Forget it, Forget Me
by Filthy x Gorgeous
Summary: COMPLETE! Draco and Hermione are sent back in time 20 years. How will spending time with the Marauders affect them? How will they get back? Will anything ever be the same? As time unfolds ... again ... relationships forge, threatening to upturn lives.
1. Chapter One

Disclaimer: I own nothing. Minus the plot.

A/N: There were no Lily/Draco fics up here. I had to put a stop to that... :)

Draco was running down the corridor, late for Quidditch practice. He'd been playing a game of Wizard chess with Blaise Zabini when he'd noticed the time, and had set off at a run to grab his broom and get to practice.

"OW!" He fell to the ground with a thud. He looked to see who he'd ran into and a look of disgust stuck on his face when he saw that it was none other than Hermione Granger.

"Watch where you're going, Malfoy." She scowled, brushing off her robes as she stood up.

"Or else what, mudblood?" He spat, the look of repulsion still evident on his angular face. Hermione sighed.

"Malfoy, I'm getting incredibly sick of that same insult, year after year." She rolled her eyes at him. "And I'd rather have filthy blood than a filthy ex-girlfriend messing around with my best friend." She smiled wickedly, knowing she'd hit a nerve – Pansy Parkinson; Draco's little plaything for the past six years, had indeed left him for none other than Goyle, Malfoy's idiotic excuse for a friend.

"You'll pay for that, Granger."

"Oh, will I?" She whipped out her wand at the same time at he did and held it up to point at his chest. He pointed his at her forehead but this she didn't seem to notice as she whispered, "Just give me a reason, Malfoy."

But he had no chance to give her a reason or curse her, as they heard a shout of "EXPELLIARMUS!"

Their heads flicked up to see a very angry Professor McGonagall striding up to them, summoning their wands to her own open hand as she did so.

"Mr Malfoy, Miss Granger, come straight to Professor Dumbledore's office with me." Her face white, Hermione followed quickly, Draco skulking behind them both.

The three sat in the office in silence, waiting for Dumbledore to arrive. Draco glared at Hermione, who didn't pay him any attention. Suddenly, they heard a bunch of screams in the distance and something that sounded suspiciously like a chandelier crashing to the ground.

"Peeves!" Professor McGonagall muttered through clenched teeth. "You two stay here. He shouldn't be much longer." With that, she departed the room, leaving Hermione and Draco alone. As soon as she was out of sight, Draco jumped up and walked to a wall opposite, upon which was a shelf with several objects which Hermione recognised to be Time-Turners, though why there were different colours and sizes she has no idea. Draco picked one up and examined it, before slipping the chain around his neck.

"Malfoy, no!" Hermione shouted as he went to spin it. She tried to grab it but her hand slipped inside the long chain as he spun it. Her eyes widened in horror as they were sent back in time.

A/n:

So am I, Hermione. :P

It will be cleared up later on, but just so you know, they take you back in different leaps of time. :)

Please R&R, even if just to flame. Although then I'll get weird. ;


	2. Chapter Two

Disclaimer: It's all JKRs 'cept the plot.

A/N: Uhm, I actually have it nearly finished, but I'm really struggling with Draco's portion of the story. It's quite depressing how much I'm struggling with one of my favourite characters. ;; Also, this is going to be about Hermione, Snape, Draco and the Marauders. They just don't give me enough character drop-list thingies. :(

"What did you just do?" Draco shouted at Hermione, who was staring at their different surroundings with a look of horror on her face.

"What did I do? You spun the goddamn time turner, you idiot!" She pulled it from him and examined it closely. Etched into the metal she read 'Décade'. "Malfoy, how many times did you spin this?"

"I don't know. How many times have you breathed today?" He answered hotly.

"This says Décade. That means decade. We've gone back in time at least ten years." She lowered herself into a chair and began breathing heavily. Malfoy just stood still and snorted.

"Décade means decade? Boy, that must have taken some working out." He said sarcastically. "I can see why people say yo-"

He stopped talked when they heard the stone staircase move. He looked at Hermione and if she hadn't been so scared herself she would have laughed at the fear evident on Draco's face.

"Who are you?" A student asked; her hair, which was long, dark red and thick was falling over her elegant shoulders. Her almond shaped green eyes were narrowed at Draco and Hermione suspiciously and she looked nervous.

"I'm Draco Ma-"

"He's Draco Marley. I'm Amy Smith." Hermione cut him off. Draco looked at her as if she was mad but she gave him a look that clearly said _I'll explain later. _

"Ok... What year are you in? I've never seen you before..."

"Seventh." Malfoy said sharply. Hermione recognised the girl, but couldn't think of where she'd seen her before...

"I'm in seventh... I've honestly never seen you before. Are you new?" The girl was eyeing Hermione suspiciously.

"Yes. New. We need to speak to the headmaster. Is it Dumbledore?" Hermione asked. The other girl nodded.

"I'm Lily, by the way... Lily Evans." She held her hand out to Hermione, who shook it, and then to Draco, who just stared. "I don't bite, you know." Lily said, but when he still refused to shake, she shrugged and lowered her hand. "Whatever."

They stood in an uncomfortable silence for a few minutes and a younger looking Dumbledore suddenly leaped out of the fireplace, stumbling.

"I'm afraid I'll never get the hang of Floo Powder." He chuckled softly. "How can I help you, Miss Evans?"

"I was just wondering if you could tell me when we'll be getting a new gamekeeper."

"Very soon, I hope." Dumbledore replied with a slight smile. "Although I'm almost certain there's no need for you to worry."

Lily smiled and thanked him, before quickly exiting the room.

"What business brings you to Hogwarts?" He turned his gaze on Hermione and Draco.

"We... Um... Had a problem. I wish I could tell you what happened but it's against the rules and we need to stay here until we can fix it." Hermione rushed her speech, and Draco was surprised Dumbledore understood.

"You want to enrol as temporary Hogwarts students?" He asked, as if asking if they wanted sugar in their tea.

"...Yes." Hermione said with an uneasy expression upon her face. S

"Very well. Now, I must insist that you take some Veritaserum and we ask you some simple questions, which under the circumstances must be acceptable, and then you shall be sorted at dinner tonight.

"We already know what houses we're in." Draco drawled. "I'm a Slytherin. She's a Gryffindor."

"As I said, Mr Marley, you shall be sorted tonight at dinner."

After a few questions, (Thankfully none involving their names...) Draco and Hermione set off on a walk around the school, looking for the girl they saw earlier, just to pass time. Draco would rather die than admit it, but he was scared to leave Hermione's side. She was certainly much smarter than he, and he knew for a fact she hated him. No doubt she would first find out how to get back to _their _time, and go ahead and leave him here.

"Oh my god. Look, Malfoy, it's Snape!" Hermione grabbed Draco's arm and he followed her gaze. There was a thin, pale boy with a hooked-nose and extremely greasy hair walking alone towards them. Draco was stifling an uncharacteristic giggle, and Hermione smiled lightly at the teenage Snape. Much to her surprise, he smiled back as he walked past. As soon as he was out of earshot Draco burst out laughing.

"What's so funny?" Hermione frowned at him. As soon as Draco has caught his breath, he looked at Hermione.

"_Amy,_" He smirked. "That was Snape. A teenage Snape." He burst out laughing again and Hermione shook her head and walked away, failing to see what was so funny.

A/N: Oh. I have no idea why Malfoy laughed at Snape. I just had a mental image of Draco pretty much wetting himself laughing and wanted to add it to the story. It's cute. Imagine away.


	3. Chapter Three

Disclaimer: The plot and 'Cera' are mine. Everything else is JKRs.

A/n: Yes, _Cera_ is me. I couldn't resist a teenage Snape and Draco being in the same school as myself. (So what if it's fiction? I can pretend.)

And reviews! Yay! I expected zilch. :D

**Fire-and-ice89**, I almost had a heart attack when I saw I had a review from you. I'm like your #1 fan. oO; Thank you for reviewing. :)

** Whylove,** Thankyou:) I'll try to upload more quickly from now on, but I've really got to figure out what I'm doing with Draco and Lily so that the chapters are "complete".

**OnEbLoOdYrOsEpEtAl373**, I'm sorry about the confusion. But if they go back in time then at that point they are their professors from the future so... Yes. I've changed the summary now, to avoid further catastrophe. Thanks for the review. :)

* * *

After half an hour, they stumbled across Lily.

"Hey." She smiled at them. A friend she was with shot a questioning look at Lily. She was tall, with choppy black hair and deep blue eyes.

"Hi..." Hermione smiled. Draco just stood there.

"Oh, Cera. This is Amy and... Drake, was it?" Lily smiled apologetically.

"Draco." Draco drawled, sounding more bored than ever.

"Nice to meet you." Cera smiled friendlily. "Are you new?"

"Yeah, I guess." Draco shrugged. "We're getting sorted today."

"At dinner?" Lily asked.

"Yeah."

"Hey Evans." A group of men swooped next to them. Hermione gasped.

"_Harry!"_ She asked. She suddenly realised her mistake – This boy had brown eyes, unlike Harry's green ones. She then realised where she recognised Lily from – These were Harry's parents.

"No, I'm James." James smiled and nodded slightly, and introduced the people stood near him. "This is Remus, Peter and Sirius."

"Sirius Black?" Draco's eyes shot open and Hermione subtly elbowed him in the ribs to shut him up.

"You know me?" Sirius laughed arrogantly. Hermione had to admit he didn't look bad in his younger days.

"We heard someone mention you earlier." Hermione said, quietly, covering for Draco who had been struggling to make an excuse.

"Oh, okay. So... Who are you?" Remus asked. They introduced themselves – Or, rather, they introduced Amy Smith and Draco Marley. They stayed with the group until dinner that evening.

"Today, students, a rather unexpected event occurred. We have two new students joining us from Destination unknown. If you do not mind, they will be sorted before the meal begins."

Murmurs rose on all four tables and Draco looked at Hermione nervously, and she mirrored the expression. A three-legged stool was brought to the front of the hall, along with the Sorting Hat, and Draco was called up first. The hat was on his head for a full five minutes, before it shouted "GRYFFINDOR!"

Both Hermione and Draco looked horrified, but nonetheless, Draco got up, walked to the Gryffindor table, and sat next to Cera.

Hermione sat on the stool with the hat on her head for what must have been twice as long as Draco had, and eventually, the hat yelled "SLYTHERIN!"

She faked a smile and went to the Slytherin table and sat next to a lonely looking Severus Snape, much to the amusement of a lot of the other students.

The gold plated filled with food after Dumbledore welcomed the new students, and then people began digging in.

"You didn't have to sit next to me." Severus sighed. "You'll never live it down, you know." Hermione furrowed her brows at him.

"I don't care about reputation. I'm Amy, by the way."

"Severus." He smiled lightly as Hermione struggled to cut up a rather tough piece of steak. "Would you like some help?" She laughed softly and shook her head.

"I'm fine. Thanks, though. Is that all you're going to eat?" They both looked down at the nearly empty plate in front of him.

"Yes, I'm not overly hungry." He sighed and lifted a slice of carrot to his mouth slowly.

Throughout the meal, although few words were spoken, Hermione got the feeling that Severus had absolutely no friends.

"So what do you do at weekends?" She asked with a smile. Since it was a Friday, this seemed like the perfect way to start a conversation.

"Study, usually." He looked uncomfortable at the question. "What did you do when you were at your old school?"

"Study, same as you." She smiled at him, and he quickly averted his gaze. "Or avoid my potions master. Honestly, he's a nightmare..." Realising she was treading on thin ice, she took a deep drink of pumpkin juice and waited for Severus to speak next.

"Would you like me to show you around?" He asked her nervously, after a moments silence.

"Of course." She smiled at him, and was delighted when he smiled back. He didn't seem horrible at all.

* * *

"Hey Draco. Congratulations." Lily smiled and shook his hand as he slid opposite her at the Gryffindor table. They were all quiet whilst Hermione was sorted. Draco laughed softly to himself when she was put in Slytherin.

"She's sat with _Snivellus!" _James laughed yet looked completely aghast as he watched Hermione begin talking to the greasy loner. "But she could have any guy here!"

"You wouldn't say that if you knew her." Draco sneered. "She's a little know-it-all who's so far up Potter's arse it's unbelievable." The others looked between themselves, eyebrows raised.

"Potter?" James asked. "Any relation to me?"

"Don't think so." Draco swore at himself mentally. He was going to have to be MUCH more careful, but for now, they seemed to have bought it. James laughed after a second.

"I bet Snivellus asks her out by Monday." He smiled. "Any girl who pays an ounce of attention to him is doomed, mark my words."

They all laughed except Lily, who stood up, sighing, and walked out of the great hall. No one seemed to notice, amid the jokes at both Snape's and Hermione's expense.

"Want to make a bet, James?" Malfoy smirked. "I bet Miss Smith over there, accepts Snape's proposal. And trust me – I'd happily bet my own home on this one."

The group erupted in laughter again, and James thrust out his hand. "You're on, Draco."


	4. Chapter Four

Disclaimer: Anything you recognise ain't mine.

A/n:Five new reviews from two amazing writers. Honestly, my day has been well and truly made.

Oh, I apologise in advance for this chapter. Hopefully the next will be better...

Fire-And-Ice89, thanks for the reviews and compliments (Though I find I still must disagree :P). :) I might go back and change the summary, later, thank you very much for the advice. I didn't want Draco to have a complete change just because of a little time-travel accident, but the seriousness of the situation will hit him, I assure you. Thanks for recommending the story, too. :D

Mocha Dragon, I'm quite sure Lily and Draco will have a little dash of romance in this fic. :) I'm sorry to say it, but you will no doubt have to get the bucket out. :( Don't worry, though – I'm thinking of turning it into two separate stories, one "following" Draco, the other Hermione... Still not sure, though. Thank you very much for the compliments, though as I said before, I must disagree.

To both of you, please keep reading:D

* * *

Snape walked Hermione to the lake, and pointed out into the distance.

"That's actually a giant squid, not that you can tell from here..." He smiled nervously. "Uhm... Are you okay?" He looked into her brown eyes, and she returned the gaze.

"I'm fine, Severus. You don't need to be so nervous, you know."

"You don't need to try to make me feel better, you know." He said quietly, mocking her tone,but after this he certainly relaxed. They sat down under a tree and looked out to the lake in silence. He looked at her, trying to understand why she was with him, when he acted on impulse and asked, "Amy, there's a trip to Hogsmeade tomorrow to buy things for the ball on Sunday... would you like to go with me?" Her heart skipped a beat.

"To Hogsmeade or the ball?" she asked. Much to her surprise, he laughed. The first time she had ever heard Severus Snape laugh. The sound was entirely foreign to her, but strangely alluring at the same time.

"To Hogsmeade. I assume you'll be asked to go to the ball with Potter or someone from his little elite clique."

"Yes, I'll go to Hogsmeade with you. Although I have no money, so there's not really much point." She ignored his comment about James and told herself she'd always carry some money from now on.

"It's nice to get out of the school, though." Severus sighed. They sat in silence for a few minutes, watching the Squid come closer.

"Severus?" She asked, quietly.

"Yes?" He asked, expecting her to ask if the squid would come closer and attack them.

"Will you come to the ball with me?"

* * *

"So, Draco." James smirked as they left the building to walk around the grounds with the other Marauders. "What do you think of Lily?"

"She's pretty hott. So's her friend, but not as much..." Draco smiled softly. _If only Potter was more like his dad, he'd be much easier to tolerate._

"Well, Cera's going to the ball with me." Remus shrugged. The other Marauders laughed heartily.

"You've barely said anything to her apart from 'Willyougototheballwithme?' and you STILL have to make sure everyone knows." Sirius laughed. "And luck's out, Draco. Lily's going with Potter."

"I'm sure I'll find someone better." Draco winked at them, and then they all stopped dead in their tracks.

"_Snivellus." _James hissed.

"Where?" Asked Peter.

"Over there, you blind git." James hit Peter playfully and pointed towards the lake. "Draco, no offence but is that friend of yours a bit slow? She's hanging with Snivellus... It's unnatural."

"At least they can say they have friends as hott as themselves." Draco sneered, making the others laugh.

They set off walking towards Severus and Hermione and Sirius told them how he was going to get Amy to go to the ball with him, and do it right in front of Severus.

"Amy." Sirius spoke barely above a whisper when they got there. "Will you come to the ball on Sunday with me?"

"Sorry." Hermione said, looking genuinely sorry, after a moments pause. "I'd only go if someone really special asked me."

"I'mAM special." Sirius laughed his arrogant laugh. "Trust me, every girl who comes here would kill to be asked by me."

"You'd better ask one of them, then." She shrugged, standing beside Severus who had snapped into an upright position as soon as the others had arrived. James, Peter, Draco and Remus all burst out laughing.

"You got BURNED, Sirius!" Peter guffawed.

"I didn't know you had it in you, Gra- Amy." Draco laughed.

"Come on, Amy." Sirius hadn't given up yet. "I'll buy you a dress and everything."

"No, I'm sorry, but I'm already going with someone." Hermione sighed and went to turn away when Sirius grabbed her arm.

"But you said you'd only go with someone special."

"Yes."

"But... The only person you've been with today is _Severus_."

"Put two and two together." Said James, horrified.

"Oh, HONESTLY." Exclaimed Draco. "He's SNAPE." Hermione ignored the strange looks off everyone and pulled Draco away from the crowd by his sleeve.

"I know it's Snape, but he's not that evil git... He's nice here, just lonely."

"Remember all the stuff he's done to you, though! Humiliated you! Took points off you!"

"But that's in the nineties. We're in the seventies now, so technically he hasn't done anything of the sort..."

"This time difference is giving me headache." Draco complained and walked back to the others. Hermione sighed andwalked behind him.

"C'mon Draco. Let's leave these two." James beckoned the rest and walked away. Severus took Hermione's hand in his own and whispered,

"You're insane."

* * *

A/N: Hermione, Hermione, Hermione. Draco was completely OOC for you and you ignored him. Oh, and I'm going to the ball with Remus? As long as it's the Remus in my head and not that Thewlis dude, all's good. ;

Also, I'm so very sorry I put "_"You got BURNED, Sirius!" Peter guffawed_" in at all. It's just a little homage to all of my friends in London, who sadly said that on a daily basis. It made me cringe every time. Mainly because it was said to me more often than not.


	5. Chapter Five

Disclaimer: Cera + Plot Mine.

A/N: I wrote responses to the reviews in my Music class (I went back to school so I could officially leave... Grr. I had the reviews saved on my iPod) and I think I left them in the classroom. :(

Anyway:

Fire-And-Ice89, Why does no one like Severus and Hermione together? They're two of my favourite characters. Better them two than Hagrid and Dobby. :P Thanks for the review and compliments, as always. Ooh! SNAP, CERA! I've just had a little flash of "howtokeepseverusinthestorywithouthimbeingromanticallyinvolvedwithhermione". You and Mocha Dragon'll be happier soon... :)

Rebel Witch 7, Thanks for the review! I "rock the face"? I've never heard that one before! xD; will be saying it forever I liked that bit, too... young Snape is adorably, mysteriously, greasily, dangerously cute.

MrsTomFelton007, I remember nearly falling off my chair at your enthusiasm! Thank you much!

Mocha Dragon, keep the bucket nearby for the next couple of chapters, then it can happily go in the cupboard under the sink. I'm incredibly ashamed of the fact that I had not put any Dark Arts into the story so far. Trust me, it will be in here. As for Sirius, I felt kind of bad humiliating him like that, but he did deserve it... In a roundabout way.

Ah, the Draco thing... I really didn't notice or plan it. ;; UI'll pull him back on track/give explanation soon. :)

Tiggersangel2001, Thank you for the review! I'm trying to get it to move along, but I don't want it to "WHOOSH" and be over with... Sorry I took so long with the update. School, Reading, Family and Sleep are all to blame. :D

&

The next morning, Hermione walked into the Slytherin Common Room alone. She'd not made any friends other than Lily, Cera and Severus, and with them (logically) being in different dormitories, she had had a quiet night.

"Morning." She smiled at Severus as she sat in the chair opposite him. He looked at her as if it took every ounce of effort to raise his focus from the book in his hands.

"How can you be so cheery so early?" He closed his book, keeping his finger inside to keep the page.

"Always have been, always will be." She shrugged. "What are you reading?"

"I... Uhh..." He trailed off. She raised an eyebrow and pulled the book from his grip.

"'The Unforgivables'?" She asked, shocked. "Why are you reading this?"

"It's interesting." He said simply, taking the book back and looking for his page again. Hermione stood there in silence, wondering why on earth a person her age would want to know about them. He sighed and continued, "The theory, the effect, the fact that people will resort to this for no reason other than to get what they desire. People should know about these things."

"You don't... You don't _use _them, do you?" She asked. He looked up at her, a disbelieving look on his face.

"Just because I know how doesn't mean I use them. Are you saying you've used every spell, potion, charm, you've ever learned?"

"Well... No..." She said slowly. "I'm sorry, I was just... shaken up."

"It's fine. We should get breakfast before we go to Hogsmeade." He stood up and walked out of the common room, making sure she was following. She took hold of his hand partway there.

"So what do people wear to the ball's here?" She asked quietly, knowing whatever it was, she wouldn't be able to buy it.

"Whatever they want. Dress robes, suits, dresses..." He shrugged.

"Are your parent's muggles?" Hermione asked after a short silence, already knowing the answer. He shook his head.

"Yours?" He asked.

"Muggles." She said. "So I grew up in a muggle house and everything."

"That must be really weird... No magic." He yawned as they entered the Great Hall. It was teeming with students waiting to go to Hogsmeade, and a few of them noticed Severus and Hermione, their held hands, which resulted in quiet laughter among themselves.

"Ignore them." She said to Severus. He didn't say anything, but didn't remove his hand from Hermione's, either.

They parted to sit down in opposite chairs and as Hermione began to butter her toast, Severus started laughing.

"What?" She asked, frowning. He shook his head.

"Nothing, just..." He paused. "If someone went back a week and told me I'd be eating breakfast with a beautiful girl in the foreseeable future, I'd think they were being complete gits." Hermione smiled at him.

"You think I'm beautiful?" Hermione took a bite from her toast. Severus didn't answer. He did not need to 1.

&

Draco rubbed his eyes as he woke up, his eyes adjusting to the red décor. _What the...? _He asked himself, reaching instinctively for his wand, before he remembered the Time-Turner incident and the resorting. He hoisted himself up and stretched his arms looking at the sleeping figures in the dormitory. He surveyed James with the most quizzical expression. _Who'd have thought Potters father would be so... Cool? _He asked himself. He got out of bed and showered and dressed, performing a cleansing charm on his clothes from the previous day.

Lily and Cera were sat in the common room with Remus, Sirius and James, who it seemed had arisen whilst Draco was in the shower. He sat down next to Remus – the furthest from Sirius. Draco had obviously deemed Werewolves much more trustworthy than wrongly accused mass-murderers.

"Morning." Remus said friendlily. The others smiled at Draco who nodded back. He forced a smile when Lily caught his eye and she blushed and looked away. Draco only dropped his gaze when he felt James' glares burning into his skin.

"Are you coming to Hogsmeade with us?" He asked, not as amicable as before.

"Sure." Draco yawned, taking this as an invitation.

"Beat you." Sirius smirked; he'd cheated and won the game as James was distracted by Malfoy.

"Whatever." James ran his fingers through his hair, Cera smiling softly in his direction as he did so. The female attention seemed to re-boost his confidence and he jumped up self-assuredly. "We should go. They'll leave without us."

They stood up and walked away, leaving Peter asleep in his bed.2

&

"Here." Severus set a butterbeer on the table in front of Hermione.

"Thanks." She grinned at him. "You're seventeen, then?" She pointed to the Firewhiskey in his hand. He nodded.

"If you want one, I'll go get you one." He offered. He sat down as she shook her head.

"I can't pay you for the drink, you know."

"Consider it a present."

"What for?" She furrowed her brow.

"I need a reason to buy you a drink?" He drank half of his Firewhiskey in one go. Hermione didn't respond, but sipped her butterbeer. "You need a dress." He said quietly.

"Sorry?"

"For the ball."

"Oh... But I don't have any money."

"I have some." He looked into her eyes as he drank the rest of his drink. "I insist. If you don't help, I'll buy the most hideous one I can find and force you to wear it. You may as well pick out one you like."

"Ok. And I promise you, I'll find a way to pay you back."

"If you insist." He laughed, the smile lighting up his face.

In the clothing store, Hermione and Severus looked through the various dresses and robes.

"I have an idea." She said. He turned to face her as she continued. "I'll pick yours, you pick mine."

"Do you have a death wish?" He asked, his eyes wide, yet he went to look at the dresses as she looked through the suits. Within minutes she found a black suit and showed him it.

"How about this?" She asked.

"Sure." She held it over her arm as Severus continued to paw through the dresses. Eventually, he pulled out a pink, flowing summer dress.

"This?" He asked Hermione awkwardly. Her jaw dropped.

"That... That's beautiful, Severus, but it must be expensive."

"You like it, it's yours. Honestly." They walked to the checkout, and after paying, into the street.

After looking around the rest of the shops (And running into Draco and the Marauders, who all smiled but walked away without a word), Hermione asked, "Are you ready to go?"

They walked hand in hand back to the castle.

&

"Have you found anyone to go to the dance with, yet?" Sirius asked Draco, lazily chewing some Drooble's Best Blowing Gum he'd just purchased.

"No..." Draco sighed. He had originally planned on going with Hermione – After all, they were in this situation together. They were the only ones here the other could really rely on... He almost laughed as he realised what he was thinking – He was _disappointed _that that filthy mudblood was going to the ball with someone else! He sighed and snapped himself back to reality, telling himself it was just some stupid side-effect of the time travel.

"You'll find someone." Cera smiled.

"You could set him up with your sister..." James smiled.

"What does she look like?" Draco asked, hope rising in him.

"She's a few inches shorter than me, long chocolate colour hair, grey eyes..." She trailed off with a slight shrug of her shoulders. Draco frowned, wondering why the sister didn't already have a date for the ball. Figuring it was all just coincidence; Draco accepted the offer. He didn't notice the Marauders stood around him, suppressing laughs.

They spent the day wandering around the town, the guys separating from the girls when they went to get outfits for the ball the next day.

&

A/N:

1 I am so sorry for adding that, it is so "cheesy". Watching a full day of Lizzie McGuire can do that to a person.

2 See, in my opinion, they just have Peter around to be a worshipper. Like in that episode of Sabrina The Teenage Witch, where that woman has a door and when you open it people are there screaming for you and just _loving _you in a scary, admiring way. To me, Peter is simply a travelling, less extreme version of that door.


	6. Chapter Six

Disclaimer: Not mine.

A/N: stretches and is glad to be in a school-less life again Honestly, yesterday dragged on for an eternity! I thought it was the end of the day and it was only the end of my first (Very boring, very pointless) RE class (Why do "religion" classes only focus on one or two mainstream-y religions? Honestly, why don't they call it "Christianity" if that's all they teach?). Anyway, more reviews! I love reviews...

**Rocks-My-Socks**, Thanks for your reviews! At least someone likes Severus and Hermione, hahah. :P I adore your username... :)

**Anglachel**, thanks for reviewing! Draco will change a little. Like I said before, he will realise how serious this situation is and whatnot. Yeah, Snape is shy and normal... I love the guy :P. Even when he's older, spiteful, and pretty sadistic, he's a good guy. Or so I reckon. I just can't get enough Snape...

**Fire-And-Ice89**, thank you very much! I didn't even realise I wrote so much detail, but if it's good, wahey:D As for the kissing... Well. They like each other a lot, so who knows? laugh ... My school situation, well. If I just stopped attending altogether (Like I did for a few weeks before Easter), my mum would be fined or even imprisoned, since it's classed as truancy. I'd also have to pay £200 for exams that I'm registered to take, even if I didn't take any. So I had to go in for a couple of days and tell them I wasn't taking any of the exams, say goodbye to people, get teachers who'll give me college references to be prepared and such... Stupid system.

**Mocha Dragon**, I half agreeabout Peter. He really SHOULD be in the story, but I just hate the guy so much, he annoys me to no end and just... yeah. I'm weird, hahah. I liked that line as well... Draco really is such a wimp. Cera's sister is actually one of my real-life sisters. When I told her about the story she asked to be written in, so of course I obliged (I think I'm done with OCs now). Thanks for reviewing. :)

* * *

The next day, Severus awoke to a shout down in the common room. He jumped out of bed and peered down the staircase. Seeing nothing, he returned to his dormitory, pulled on some clothes and ran down the steps.

He saw a group of third years standing, shouting incoherently at each other. After a minute or two passed, they all turned from each other; some storming out of the common room toward the hallway, others ascending to their dormitories.

"That was weird..." Someone said. He looked up to see Hermione.

"Yeah..."

They sat in front of the fire in silence. Suddenly, a small, thin, freckled boy walked up to Hermione.

"Amy, I was w-wondering... Are you going to the ball tonight?" He asked, stuttering.

"With Severus." She nodded. The boy looked at her, blank-faced for a moment, and then laughed, as did some other nearby students who'd overheard. She caught bits of rushed conversation that had erupted after the momentary silence. "I heard she turned down Sirius Black for that guy!" "Is he PAYING her?" "Look at her – She's not that good a catch." "But she's a million times better looking than him..."

Apparently, Sirius hadn't spread word of his rejection.

The comments eventually got too much for Hermione this early in the morning.

"Honestly!" She shouted, storming out of the common room, Severus in tow.

"I'm sorry." He said, as they sat in the same seats at breakfast as they had the previous day. She cocked an eyebrow at him. "If it weren't for me, you'd be at the ball with Sirius Black and the entire school would love you." Hermione sighed.

"Severus, I want to go with you. If I wanted to go with Sirius I would have asked him, not you." She smiled encouragingly and after a moment, he smiled back.

* * *

Draco had spent the money he'd had spare in his pockets on some plain black dress robes in Hogsmeade the previous day. After changing, he made his way to the Common room, where Cera and Remus were stood, apparently waiting for him, James, Sirius and Peter.

"Where's your sister?" Draco asked Cera, who was wearing a long, black dress.

"Oh, she's a Hufflepuff, she can't come in here. She's waiting in the corridor." Cera said nonchalantly. Draco's heart dropped. _Hufflepuff! I thought she'd be at least a Ravenclaw! _He stood, anxiously, waiting for the others to join them. James arrived last, looking very casual, as opposed to Sirius who looked extremely elegant. Peter, on the other hand, just looked stupid.

"Who are you going with?" Peter asked Sirius, who just smiled slightly.

"I'll find someone when I get there." He said, self-assuredly. Draco didn't doubt this for a second; even the girls who already had dates wouldn't turn down Sirius. Unless, of course, he irrationally went after Hermione again.

The corridor was empty, Draco realised as he stepped out of the common room, except for a short first-year. Draco turned to face Cera, who had now attached herself to Remus' arm.

"I thought you said your sister was out here." Draco said to Cera, frowning.

"Uh, hello?" Said the young witch impatiently, "I'm Bekki. Cera's sister."

Behind Draco, James and Sirius burst into fits of uncontrollable laughter. Even Remus was smiling slightly. Draco felt his cheeks burn.

"How old is she?" He demanded.

"Eleven." Cera said, as if there was nothing wrong.

"Age is only a number, Draco." James smiled, patting him on the shoulder. Draco glared at the little girl who was clad in a floor-length dress. He frowned and walked grumpily towards the first year, who smiled at him. _A few inches shorter! _He asked himself. _She's barely five foot! _

He tried to lose her as the group walked towards the Great Hall, but she grabbed onto his arm, as if for dear life, and refused to let go. He tried to pull his arm from her clutches, but that made her hold on tighter.

"Can we dance? I want to dance!" She whined, as Draco threw himself down onto an empty chair.

"No!" He said, after she asked for what seemed like the fiftieth time.

"Fine." She said, walking away in a huff. "I'll go find someone better to dance with."

"More like go find a different babysitter!" Draco shouted after her. She turned back for a second, scowling, before walking towards a lonely looking boy on the other side of the hall.

* * *

"Ready to go?" Asked Hermione through the door to Severus' dormitory. Never before had she heard of a man who took longer than his date to get ready.

"Almost." He laughed through the door. His laugh was, strangely, becoming very familiar to Hermione now. A few minutes later, he announced it was okay for her to go in. he reluctantly pushed back the door and gasped.

"Oh my god." They said together. Hermione smiled, but Severus looked more nervous than ever before.

"I look horrible, don't I?" He asked. She shook her head, still shocked. His suit hung very elegantly off his angular body, his hair hung softly to his shoulders and his eyes seemed so much more _alive. _He smiled and looked at the floor, embarrassed. "You look beautiful." He told her. The dress he'd bought clung to her figure in a classy way, and her hair fell in loose ringlets over her shoulders and down her back. She wore only a minimal amount of make-up, which did nothing more than highlight her original beauty.

"Come on. You spent so long getting ready that we're nearly half an hour late." Hermione held out her arm and he took it in his own as they walked to the Great Hall.

No one paid them any attention as they entered, and they walked straight to the dance floor.

"Amy, I don't dance..." Severus protested, but she ignored him. "I really don't..." His protests grew weaker, and finally stopped as she leaned in towards him. They were so lost in thoughts (Hermione wondering how and why she was falling for Snape of all people, and Severus trying to not make a fool of himself) that they didn't register the announcement that rang through the room,

"The true king and queen of this ball, Draco Marley, who has attended alone, we think..." A spotlight shone onto Draco who stood alone, a very distressed appearance on his face. Hermione wondered what was wrong, but quickly lost thought of him. "And Amy Smith, here with Slytherin's Severus Snape. A round of applause."

Few people clapped. All eyes were on Hermione and Severus, who stood, shocked. A grin flashed across Hermione's face and she leant in to Severus, moving her face closer to his, their lips slowly moving towards the others. Hermione could feel his breath burning her lips as she paused, but then turned away as a shout filled the silence.

"GRANGER! That's _SNAPE_!"

* * *

A/N: My Gran has broadband, but is logging into AOLusing dial-up, which means I can't get online!

Next chapter should be up soon.


	7. Chapter Seven

A/n: Hahah. I thought this story was you know... at least a tiny bit original, but when I searched the net, I found out what I have planned is in many stories, and have so re-planned it all. It's still, I'm sure, not very original, but I hope that it will now spin in a slightly less predictable way from now on. Will this affect the story I've already uploaded? Not at all, though I think I'll rewrite chapter six, but the outline of it will stay the same (So no need to re-read when I do change it)...

Review replies:

**Rocks-my-socks**, thanks for reviewing! I love her with Snape, too! I must admit it's better in the past... Not that I'm against age differences, or necessarily Teacher-Student relationships, just... yeah. I know what I mean. :P

**Tiggersangel2001**, thanks for reviewing. 

**Fire-and-ice89**, I think Draco is a good guy. Always have, always will (Unless, of course, he kills Hermione or something like that...)... I'm so sorry about the ball! I'm hopefully going to rewrite that chapter sometime, with a whole lot more detail on a few points. The announcement was made by James, but it's not really part of the main plot. :) Thanks for the review.

**Anglachel**, thanks for reviewing! I'm glad you found it funny. Draco needs to learn when to keep his mouth shut, I think... points down to this chapter

**TheShadowAvenger**, I was so upset when she killed him, too. I have a feeling we'll see him again, at some point, too. You'll see a lot more of ol' Padfoot soon (I have given him a more significant role, all because of your review:)) Thanks for reviewing.

**xoKaSsIox**, thanks for the review! I'm glad you found it funny. :)

* * *

"Draco, you have to call me Amy while we're here!" She half-whispered, half-shouted when she'd stalked away from Severus towards him. He looked completely impassive.

"Figure out how to get us back and it won't matter. Found anything out yet?"

"No..." She said quietly. He smirked.

"Want to stay here with Snape and play happy families?" Draco rolled his eyes. "Just hurry up and figure out how to get back. You couldn't have cared less about him a few days ago. I personally thought you'd be jumping in bed with James. See how father compares to son. You're just a -"

She punched him with all the strength she could muster, turned away and walked towards the door. Everyone watched her leave, many mouths hanging open in awe.

She left the hall, the building, and went to the only place she could think of that would be deserted. She sunk onto the hard ground just out of the reach or the Whomping Willows thrashing branches. She watched the tree move, in a daze, and thought of what Malfoy had said to her. '_See how father compares to son'... How DARE he? I would never... He's like a brother to me... His dad... _She sighed, her thought making no sense to even herself. She was missing Ron and Harry more than she'd expected she would. It had only been, as Draco has pointed out, a few days, so of course it was stupid of her to miss them already. But they'd been through nearly everything together. She pulled her knees to her chest and didn't bother to fight back tears as her heart ached. She didn't notice when someone walked up beside her.

"Hi, Amy." The person spoke quietly. She didn't need to look at him to recognise his voice.

"Hello Remus."

* * *

Draco ambled his way to the hospital with Lily at his side, asking him if he was ok.

"I'm fine." He snapped, before softening his voice. "Sorry. It hurts. Go back to the ball – James will be wondering where you are."

"Not until you're seen to." She frowned, before speeding up.

Much to his surprise, Madam Pomfrey was able to fix his nose very quickly.

"It wasn't broken." She explained, as he and Lily gave her strange looks. She ushered them out as a boy with an arm growing from his forehead bustled through the door.

"Back to the dance, then..." Lily said as they stood in a deserted hallway. Draco merely nodded. "Can I ask you something?" Lily asked as they began to walk. "Where are you really from?"

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you." He said in what he hoped was a playful manner.

"It must be hard, only knowing one other person here..." Lily continued. It was as if she were speaking her thoughts, barely aware of Draco being right next to her.

"I suppose I'm trying not to think about it." He said honestly, avoiding her gaze. He didn't know why he was opening up to her; her kind voice, her warmth, her deep, understanding gaze... _Potter's eyes_ he reminded himself, quickly turning away. "I hate Amy." He spat after a second. "Do you know how hard this is? Can you imagine being sent to a place where you don't know anybody but know everything at the same time with a person who makes your blood boil?"

"Why do you hate her?" She asked, though there was no unfairness in her voice. She was being more of a friend to him than anyone ever had been.

"Her and her friends hate me." He laughed. "It's only manners to return the favour."

"Don't get me wrong, Draco, but you seem like a much bigger man than that. I'm not saying you should be chummy with her, but... Don't give her or her friends' reason to be horrible to you. Give them a chance."

"You don't know them. One of them is worshipped as if they're a celebrity for no reason other than pure luck when he was a baby and the other is just a disgrace. Father says so all of the time, he's poor and –"

"Being poor makes no one less of a person." She objected looking him in the eye as they walked slowly. "Wouldn't you rather be happy and poor than rich and miserable?"

"You can't be rich and miserable." He laughed, though he knew, in the bottom of his heart, that he would give every galleon in his family's possession if it meant they could be half as happy as the Weasleys.

* * *

"Why are you here? This tree's dangerous." He sat next to her and gazed at the tree.

"It can't reach me here." She said softly. He noticed the tear tracks down her face as she rested her chin on her knees.

"Are you okay?" He asked, reaching out to touch her forearm but bringing his hand back just before he made contact.

"I'm fine, Remus. Cera will be waiting for you." She still hadn't taken her focus from the tree. Remus dropped his shoulders. Cera was most certainly not waiting for him, just as Severus was not waiting for her.

"She's with someone else, now." He said after a moments thought.

"I'm sorry." She said. She did sound genuinely sorry, and finally drew her stare away from the tree and fixed it on Remus. "You deserve better."

"You wouldn't be saying that if you knew I was a... person hiding a big secret." He slapped himself mentally, urging himself to take more care.

"Well, if that's so, neither of us deserve anything." She shivered. She had no idea how long she'd been sat outside, but the sky was now pitch black, dotted with a few bright stars and a near full moon. Remus would be changing in a few days. The air was cold, making her bare skin rise with gooseflesh.

"Take this." He took off his cloak and passed it to her. She looked a little apprehensive but took it anyway, wrapping it around herself.

"Why did James make that announcement?" She asked him, stretching her legs in front of her, mirroring his stance exactly. "About me and Draco?"

"To humiliate Draco, I think. He sent her with a first year."

"Why?" She asked, laughing slightly.

"I think James thinks that Draco will steal Lily. I shouldn't tell you this."

"Sorry..." She huddled herself up again.

They sat in silence, neither knowing what to talk about, for what seemed like hours.

"Miss Smith." The two teenagers looked up to see Dumbledore stood a few metres from them. He smiled gently at the two. "I need to talk to you about you timetable. Would you accompany me to my office?"

"Of course, professor." She stood up and fumbled with the clasp on the cloak front. Remus held up his hand and shook his head.

"Give it to me whenever you see me next." He smiled softly and looked away from her, pulling a small book from his pocket and beginning to read. She turned and followed the headmaster up to his office, surprised to see Draco sat in there, too.

"Have a seat, Hermione." He smiled. She gasped, which made him smile slightly. "I apologise for not informing you beforehand, but I have performed Legilimency on each of you. You must understand that I had to do this, unless I was to turn you away. With the current rise of Voldemort I cannot risk to have any undercover supporters in the school."

Hermione and Draco nodded simultaneously. Hermione was wondering why Dumbledore would keep Draco here – Was he not a future death eater? With his father being who he is, it would make sense to dismiss Draco right away. Dumbledore looked at Hermione.

"Not everything is as it seems." He said meaningfully. She looked taken aback, but said nothing. "Now that I know of your identities, I will offer you the chance to be moved to your old dormitories."

Draco thought about it. To be a Slytherin again... In his rightful house with people who would more than likely be like the people he knew before the time-travel. Or to remain in Gryffindor... With Lily, whom he felt strangely about, and James and Sirius, whom he felt compelled to befriend in his short time here... He shook his head softly.

Hermione, as always, has an answer ready and waiting. She looked up at Dumbledore.

"I want to be back in Gryffindor." She spoke strongly. The headmaster nodded.

"May I ask why?"

"When I was with Remus earlier, I remembered Severus Snape in the future... Well, I can't remember him in the future, I remember him in _my_ past suspecting Remus of helping an accused mass-murderer into Hogwarts. Remus doesn't deserve that, and he didn't then, either. And something else, too, make me not want to be near Snape for a while."

"What's that?" This time it was Draco who spoke up. He leaned forward in his chair, interested.

"You." She said simply, turning her gaze to him. "In our fourth year, outside the Potions dungeon, you tried to hex Harry and hit me instead." She gave him a very bitter look. "When Snape came, my teeth were longer than my forearm, and he said 'I see no difference'." She turned her attention back to Dumbledore. "I know this is irrational as he's done nothing, yet, but I'm afraid I can't erase my own memory."

"I see." Dumbledore said softly to himself. "I see." He repeated, a bit louder for the others benefit. "Miss Granger, while I sort your timetable, please could you go and get Professor McGonagall? She will, obviously, need to be informed of this. Mr Malfoy, would please go and bring me Remus Lupin, who I need to see for our monthly appointment?"

He had to say no more. Both Hermione and Draco knew he was a werewolf. They both nodded and as Hermione quickly exited the room, Draco said to her, knowing she'd be unable to hear, "I'm sorry, Hermione." Dumbledore said nothing as the young man left, but turned and slowly reached for a lemon drop.

* * *

"Remus, Dumbledore wants to see you." Draco said, pushing himself into the common room. Remus nodded, but said nothing as he left Sirius. _The rest of them must still be at the ball._

"See you later, Moony." Sirius grinned. Remus grinned back and walked through the portrait-hole.

He went straight to bed after delivering the message. He pulled off his dress robes and pulled himself under the maroon duvet. No matter how different he felt being a Gryffindor, he couldn't help but hate the colours. The serenity of the green and silver was gone, replaced by showy, passionate red and gold. He ran his fingers through his hair, absentmindedly. His thoughts quickly fell upon Lily Evans. Harry Potters mother. He shook his head as he wondered what they'd done to make him such an annoying git. Rolling onto his side his stomach lurched. _Idiot! _He scolded himself. _They weren't there to do anything wrong! _Without his father there to force-feed him senseless views on the world and wizards within it, he could find absolutely nothing wrong with Lily or James. And, though he'd never admit it, he couldn't think of anything wrong with Harry, either.

* * *

A/n: Yeah, Draco was a bit all-over-the-place, wasn't he? And I know it might be a bit strange for Hermione to just want to be a Gryffindor again, but aw. Remus is so cute. I'm having a little trouble distinguishing him from young-Snape, though. In my mind they're oh-so-different, but when I write/type it... They seem like the same person. Oh, nothing was revealed about the big twist in this chapter.

Oh, a few questions I'd LOVE you all to answer:

What is your favourite song in the world ever?  
-Are you going to a store at midnight to get HBP on July 16th?  
-What is your opinion on music within stories?  
-Where and at what time of the day do you tend to write?  
-What's your biggest fear?

Yes. Answer away:P I'm more than bucketfuls grateful for your reviews. :)


	8. Chapter Eight

**A/N:** I always have this debate with myself – should I lie down and rest the computer on my stomach to type, or sit up with it on a box/folded-up-blanket/whatever? Anyway...

**Reply Reviews:**

**Fire-And-Ice-89**, I love long reviews. Hahah. rubs hands together Right. I definitely need help with the summary (I've been meaning to change it, but when I try something new it sounds, can you believe it, worse.) I'll possibly have emailed you about that before this upload. :) Your perception of love-triangles is quite impressive... Thought I won't say if you actually guessed right. (I suppose the answer seems obvious, but don't forget, not all is as it seems...)... I feel giddy with responsibility now, about the romance. My hands aren't exactly capable, but I'll do my best to impress! Thank you as always, for your review.

**Rocks-my-socks**, I know! I kind of feel sorry for ol' Sevvy, too... Though not too much, as I know what he'll do now. ;) Don't forget what I wrote in the last chapter: "Cera was most certainly not waiting for him, just as Severus was not waiting for her." Ok, reading back, it isn't very well explained. Basically, instead of looking for Hermione, Snape just gave up and somehow got someone else to dance with him. It'll be clarified in this chapter, but I'll put it here none-the-less.

**Anglachel**, Blowing in the wind genius. It's an amazing track. I'm glad you don't mind Draco softening up – He is just a good little guy, I think, underneath his egocentric, annoying (Yet attractive) exterior... We have the same fear. Hahah. Go us.

* * *

Hermione awoke in the wonderfully familiar Gryffindor tower, the sun beaming through a gap in the curtains around her bed. She stretched before rising and saw a roll of parchment on her bedside table. He tore it open and recognised the loopy handwriting at once.

_Miss Granger,_

_Enclosed is your timetable. You are in every class with Mr Lupin, to whom you must appear to be new. Do not arouse suspicion by parading your knowledge of the castle and grounds. Professor McGonagall has acquired all of your necessary clothing and school equipment. If you desire anything, my door is always open.Albus Dumbledore._

Hermione frowned at the parchment for a second, having to read it a few times to take in the information completely. She walked to the trunk at the end of her bed, opened it, and sure enough – there was everything she needed inside. She pulled out some robes and walked to the bathroom and quickly showered, dressed and walked back through to the dormitory. She pushed some books into her bag, and after a moment's hesitation, Remus' cloak, too. She bounded down the stairs to find only Remus, James and Sirius sat in the common room.

"Where is everyone?" She asked. Strangely, she'd half expected Ron and Harry to be down here, despite the note from Dumbledore.

"Breakfast." Sirius yawned. "I could eat a pig..."

"Why are you still here, then?" Asked Remus, his tone harsher than usual. Sirius said nothing but him and James shared a meaningful grin. Hermione frowned at them, and then grabbed the cloak from her bag.

"Thanks for letting me use this." She held it to Remus, who took it and slid it into his own bag, avoiding looking at the other two guys in the room. James failed to hide his snort, stood up and walked out. They all followed him. Hermione noticed how similar he walked to Harry and felt the same tug at her heart she had the previous night. She blushed lightly, realising she had allowed people to see her in such a way.

* * *

"What lessons do you have this morning?" Hermione asked Draco when she sat opposite him. He handed her his timetable and poured himself more orange juice. "We're together for Transfiguration." Hermione pointed out. Draco nodded in response. After realising he was hardly a morning person, Hermione turned her focus to the Marauders and Lily who were discussing Christmas vacation. Hermione felt saddened. Most of them were going away in less than a month. Draco and Hermione would have to stay behind, of course, as they had no home to return to.

"I'm staying over Christmas." Hermione heard Sirius say and brightened up significantly. She'd always liked him, even if he had disregarded so many rules. _A society without rules is a society of fools. _She recited to herself. Suddenly people stood up around her and she realised she'd spaced out for a while.

"History of Magic, right?" Remus smiled at her. "We're with the Hufflepuffs..." He led her away and the others bid them goodbye and set off at a run up a moving staircase.

The lesson was, as it always had been, boring and hard to stay focused on. Suddenly, Remus turned and spoke to her quietly.

"How are you finding it?"

"Slightly boring." Hermione admitted, looking at the ghost Professor who was oblivious to the fact that nearly every student was whispering to his or her neighbour.

"What are your plans for Christmas?" He asked her, doodling on the corner of his parchment offhandedly.

"I'll be staying here, I suppose." She sighed. "I'll have Draco for company, though. And Sirius." Remus bit his lip when she said Sirius' name.

"Padfoot will probably try to give you a pretty unorthodox present." Hermione laughed as he said this.

"If you're implying what I think you are, I'll just have to politely decline. He's certainly not my type..."

"What _is_ your type?" Remus enquired. Hermione raised an eyebrow at him.

"Why do you want to know?" She asked slowly. He shook his head.

"Just making conversation."

They both felt a little disappointed as a new wave of silence washed over them.

"Transfiguration next. Slytherins." Remus said, sounding tired. Hermione sighed at the prospect of seeing Severus, expecting that he'd be angry with her for deserting him.

* * *

She sat at the back of the class, on the opposite side of the classroom to the Marauders and Malfoy due to a lack of seats. The Slytherins dawdled in and Severus, as was expected, sat between Cera and her.

"Bellatrix won't be happy." He said to Hermione, getting his book from his bag. "That's her seat."

"LeStrange?" Hermione asked, before she could stop herself.

"Yes." He didn't ask how she knew of Bellatrix, nor did Hermione change seats. When the Slytherin eventually sauntered in. She happily sat down on the other side of Cera and smiled at her and Severus.

"I heard you're in Gryffindor now," Severus spoke quietly when the lesson began and people began changing penguin suits into penguins.

"Yes, Dumbledore sai-"

"I don't care what he said." Severus spat. "I'm sorry. I just can't stand the thought of you being with them for the rest of the time you're here." He nodded towards the Marauders. "They strut around the castle, thinking they're too good for rules. They're hardly truthful, either... Far from it, to be precise..."

"They're not bad." She reasoned, her suit growing a head.

"Are you familiar with Lycanthropy?" He gave her a meaningful look. She didn't know how she was going to make him stop telling her. She focused on her half-penguin as he continued. "Last year they tried to kill me. A little joke, I'm sure they like to think. That was the night I discovered that _sweet_, _gentle_ Remus is a werewolf."

"You can't honestly expect me to believe that." Hermione shook her head as if this was a joke, though inside her heart was pounding so hard she was sure Snape would be able to hear it.

"Believe it, Amy. I don't know why they let half-breeds in here, personally." He shot a spell at his suit.

"Even if he is a werewolf, it doesn't mean anything. He seems nice." She shot a glance at Remus who was staring at his suit with a grin. He tugged on James' sleeve and pointed to the suit, which had grown a beak in an inappropriate place. The two erupted in laughter and Hermione turned her attention back to Severus.

"He can't be nice. It's not in his nature." He laughed scornfully. She glared at him.

"When I got here I thought you were decent." She said disbelievingly. "You bought me a dress, drinks and were welcoming. But obviously you really are what you are." She shook her head and turned back to her penguin, leaving Severus wondering what she was talking about. He lost interest quickly, as the rage at being discarded for the Marauders rose in him. Although he knew he would regret it later, he wanted to get one over on the group.

"He's a werewolf." He said loudly, making people nearby turn and stare, wide-eyed. "You shouldn't trust him. He'll take advantage, and before you know it, you'll have to be chained up every full moon, howling for human flesh, trying to kill your friends and family... At least, I think that's how it goes. Am I on track, Remus?" He spun to face the man in question, a wry grin on his face, when Hermione launched herself onto him, nails digging into his flesh, screaming incomprehensibly at him. They heard five curses sent at them, and they both fell to the ground, unconscious.

* * *

A/N: Ugh. I was singing "Uptown Girl" (The GOOD, PROPER Billy Joel version, not Westlife...) all the while writing that chapter. Little did I know, my father was awake and listening... 


	9. Chapter Nine

A/n: Two updates in one? You lucky devils :P You know what strikes me as weird? I look the same today as I did when I was eight. Possibly even before then, too. Only I had really bushy, ringlet-y hair back then. I straighten it now. And I'm pretty sure I wasn't a five foot eight eight-year-old... But my face is the same. I'll shut up and get writing.

* * *

Hermione blinked awake. Draco's face was hovering above hers, mere inches away. She jumped and initiated a throbbing headache, causing herself to close her eyes tightly and wait for the pain to subside.

"You're awake." Draco said, hesitantly, after a second. She gave him a dirty look despite the pain she was experiencing.

"No thanks to you. I heard you try to hex me."

"I didn't try to hex you. I tried to hit Snape, but you got in the way." Malfoy, unlike Hermione, could see some humour in the situation, evident in his slight smile.

"Same here, Amy. That coward spun you in the way of my stunner." James said, stepping closer to the bed. Hermione had been too preoccupied trying to stop her searing headache to notice the small crowd assembled around her hospital wing bed. Sirius, Remus and Lily hovered by her feet, James and Draco stood either side of her and Peter stood by the door, looking as if he'd rather be scrubbing cauldrons than stood there.

"I was hit with a stunner?" Hermione asked, gripping onto the sheets as her own voice amplified her headache. She remembered seeing Professor McGonagall being hit by four of them in her fifth year, and it certainly didn't look enjoyable.

"Two stunners, a jelly-legs curse and... Well, I'm not sure what Draco was trying to do..." Sirius trailed off, waving his hand as if to encourage Draco to speak up.

"It was to make Snape go bald." He shrugged nonchalantly. Remus smiled wryly as James and Sirius whooped with laughter. Lily looked as if it was taking all of her self-control not to join in, and Peter looked as if he wanted to make a quick getaway. Hermione instinctively reached up towards her hair, which was still there. She frowned at Draco, her headache subsiding slightly. Lily passed her a pocket mirror.

What was once an unruly, messy tangle of curls was now a waterfall of sleek, loosely curled brunette tresses. She turned to look at Draco, a look of disbelief on her face.

"I always look better after you attack me." She said, a hint of humour in her voice. She was, of course, referring to the incident in their fourth year, which had given her the opportunity to get her teeth shrunken to a normal size, resulting in a dazzling smile.

Madam Pomfrey bustled out of her office with a beaker of orange potion. She passed it to Hermione who gulped it down in one, feeling her headache disappear at once.

"It tastes like maracuya." She frowned, passing the beaker back to the nurse, who turned to face the others.

"If you want to eat lunch, you'd best hurry." She turned to Hermione. "Not you, dear, you'll be kept in here for observation for another day or two at least."

Hermione sat up, a defeated look on her face. Apparently Peter had been itching to eat since his arrival as he ran off right away, the others in tow. Only Remus stayed behind.

* * *

"He can't hide away in there with her." Said Sirius, shaking his head as he poured himself a glass of pumpkin juice.

"He won't." James said between bites of sandwich. "After he sees Dumbledore he'll be okay."

"He'll avoid Dumbledore!" Sirius half-shouted. "He'll think he's going to be expelled!"

"Keep your voice down." Lily sighed. "People are already gossiping about him, don't add rumours of expulsion to the list. We'll see him in Potions, just eat something for now."

But Remus didn't turn up for potions.

* * *

"They let Snape out. They stopped the pineapples growing and he went back to his common room." Remus said as Hermione surveyed the empty beds in the hospital wing. She thought better than to ask about the pineapples, and told Remus to sit down if he was going to stay.

He lowered himself into the seat and as he opened his mouth to say something, another voice cut him off.

"I half-expected you'd be here, Mr Lupin." He conjured is plush armchair near Remus' and sat down, pulling a bag from his pocket. "Sherbet lemon?"

"Am I being expelled?" Asked Remus, ignoring the offering of sweets.

"Why would I banish you? You've broken no rules." He sucked on a sugar quill he'd picked from the bag.

"But people won't want to go to school with a... someone like me." He said quietly.

"Mr Lupin, if you want to leave the school, by all means I will not prevent you."

"I don't WANT to go!" He shouted. Hermione's head started to throb again, but she didn't show it and instead watched Remus begin pacing.

"Then stay, Remus." Smiled Dumbledore. "There certainly is nothing stopping you."

Remus threw himself back into the chair, his head in his hands. He mumbled something that Hermione couldn't comprehend, but apparently Dumbledore had as he smiled softly again.

"You can be excused from your afternoon classes today. Madam Pomfrey will surely fix something for your dinner here. Afterwards, meet me in my office. You know what it is tonight."

Remus nodded imperceptibly and Dumbledore walked out of the hospital wing, leaving Hermione and Remus together.

Hermione's headache got worse than ever all of a sudden, it felt like her brain was melting with each thud of her heart. She pressed her hands onto her head with great force and let out a slight whimper. Remus shouted for Madam Pomfrey and grabbed Hermione's hand to let her know she wasn't alone. _If only someone could do this for me when I'm in pain... _He thought to himself, before shaking his head and ridding himself of such self-pity. She was gripping his hand so hard he thought his fingers would snap. The nurse ran out and poured some more of the fruity potion into Hermione's mouth. She spluttered and released Remus' hand.

"Take some more of this as soon as it starts to hurt." The nurse left the large bottle on the bedside cabinet and walked away again, muttering about powerful wizards and witched in the school.

"Sorry." She said sheepishly to Remus as he flexed his fingers.

"I deserve it." He said back.

"Why?"

"It's my fault you're here."

"It's not. You didn't throw a curse at me." She rubbed her eyes and decided to lay down on her side. She took hold of Remus' hand and closed her eyes, quickly falling asleep, leaving him to wonder what on earth was going on.

* * *

Draco and Lily sat in the common room playing wizards chess after the Marauders had made a feeble excuse to leave after nightfall.

"Take that, pawn!" Lily laughed as one of her pawns smashed one Draco's.

"It's only a pawn..." He said, though he smiled at her enthusiasm.

"A pawn today, a queen tomorrow..." She said. When Draco gave her an inquiring look, she just shrugged and laughed. The game went on for a while, and eventually they were the only two people left out of bed.

"CHECKMATE!" Draco shouted, jumping out of his seat. "I beat you, Evans!" He pointed at her, his hand right in front of her. She grabbed his wrist and smiled mischievously.

"Rematch." Her eyes sparked in the firelight. The green reflecting the ember with a passionate glow.

"Forget the chess." He knelt down and leaned in towards her, kissing her softly.

He went to bed with an extremely wide smile a short while later.

* * *

A/n: That last little snip of Draco/Lily... Well. A short while is a very ambiguous time span and so a number of things could have happened. Let me clear it up: They only kissed. 


	10. Chapter Ten

**A/N:** Three chapters in two days. Maybe I should tone it down a little. Also, I get really careless when it comes to gender. I try my hardest to stay on track, but nearly everyone in existance is androgynous to me. I do try to keep it all on track, I assure you (Although I think I've called Draco "She" a few times already...)

Oh, also, was it my computer or was messing up for nearly the entire day yesterday?

**Review Replies**:

**Gecko149**, thanks for the review and compliment! I'm writing too fast for my own good at the moment, lol... :)

**Tree of Life**, yes, Draco and Lily... I'm considering turning it into a Draco/Hermione fic, but... I'm not sure I will. They'll have a little more interaction, though... Oh yes... ;D Thanks for R&Ring!

**Alenor**, thanks for the review. I hope the chapter meets your expectations. :)

**Rocks-my-socks**, thanks for coming back:) Remmie? Isn't that an indigestion medicine? giggles Remus and Hermione might hook up, at least for a little while... But I can't leave Sevvy out in the cold forever. Ah well. I already know what'll happen. evil grin Please keep reading.

**Cold-eyes-for-you**, Hi there, thanks for reviewing. The main couple is, I suppose, Draco/Lily. They're the only remotely solid pair in here, everyone else is swapping partners like Pokémon cards (Sorry... I'm stuck in the nineties...)... Thanks for the compliments, too. It was your review that made me move my lazy self and get this chapter uploaded... :) And of course, someone'll figure out their origins eventually.

* * *

Remus' transformations had gone worse than usual; his stress and heightened emotion has made them more painful and he'd snapped a rib when he was transforming back into himself. He walked slowly towards the hospital wing, each breath causing him more pain. Madam Pomfrey was, as she was every month, waiting by the doors to help him into a bed. Dumbledore's orders.

"Ribs..." He gasped as he got near enough for her to hear. His breathing was driving him towards agony and the nurse immediately brandished her wand and healed his broken bone. She went into her office after he insisted he was okay now, and only then did he realise Hermione was awake, watching him, wide-eyed.

* * *

Draco sat at the Gryffindor table at breakfast time, not eating. He spooned some cornflakes, raised them into the air, then flipped the spoon and watched them fall back into the milk. He repeated this act until Sirius knocked the utensil from his hand, an annoyed look upon his face.

"She'll be alright, mate." James said, a slightly sad smile on his face.

"What?" Draco shot back. He didn't know about Lily ignoring Draco all morning...

"Hermione. She'll be back out today." James gave Draco an odd look.

"Oh, yeah. Yeah." Draco picked up a soggy cornflake with his fingers and ate it slowly, losing himself in thought once again. A few moments later a chubby hand was waving in front of his face.

"I said what are you going to do about Remus?" Peter said, his voice naturally high.

"What do you mean?" Draco picked up another single cornflake.

"He's making a move on Amy. Them two are helping." Peter pointed the same plump hand towards James and Sirius, who instantly looked defensive.

"We said we'd help if it was okay with you." James corrected Peter. "See, he's not exactly talented when it comes to girls..."

"And you are?" Lily looked up from her Daily Prophet with a playful smirk. Sirius' smile back held challenge, but Draco missed out on his no-doubt witty response as his mind slowly processed the information it had just been fed. _I hope he has better luck than I'm having. _He thought bitterly.

* * *

Remus and Hermione sat together in the Hospital Wing playing chess and talking of anything that sprung to mind for nearly the entire day. They were, of course, both there because of Madam Pomfrey's incessant insisting that they needed rest.

"What do you want to do when you leave school?" He asked her, after she refused yet another game of chess.

"I'm really not sure..." She thought for a second. "Maybe work for the Ministry of Magic, but I'm not sure what as... I suppose I'd like to be a teacher... What about you?" She asked, realising she was rambling. They were sat on Remus' hospital bed, both upright and cross legged, facing each other. Remus looked at the ceiling, biting his lower lip as he thought.

"An Auror, maybe..." His answer took Hermione by shock, but she didn't let on. "Or something in the muggle world, if not."

"Why?" She asked, unintentionally sounding insolent.

"My mum's a muggle. Me, her and dad live in Whitby. A muggle town."

"Oh..." Hermione ran her fingers through her hair and paused, noticing Remus watching her. "Stop looking at me like that." She lowered her head so that her hair fell over her face.

"Like what!" He asked his hands up in a gesture of helplessness. Much to his frustration, James and Sirius took this opportunity to walk in.

"I hope we're not interrupting anything." James grinned and playfully hit Remus on the shoulder.

"What exactly would you be interrupting?" Remus snapped, making the other two boys take an involuntary step backwards.

"Oh, I just remembered. I have to go see Dumbledore." Hermione snapped her head up, jumped of the bed and went to plead with Madam Pomfrey to let her leave. After she was granted permission and deemed healthy again, she pulled on her shoes and walked towards the door.

"I'll take you." Sirius rushed to her side.

"I'll be fine alone." Hermione said, frowning.

"You can't know your way already." He raised a sceptical eyebrow and held out his arm. She sighed, took it and let him lead them away from the hospital wing.

* * *

Draco sat in the library, pawing through various books with promising titles, trying to find out how to get back to his normal time. He was confused with Lily (Did a kiss justify the silent treatment?), with the laws of Time Travel (The fact that they were here in existence seemed to be disrupting a lot; surely that would affect the future?), with Hermione (Since when was she such a man-eater?), with everything. It had been much simpler to follow his fathers rules and know his fate. Here he had to many decisions, too much freedom, even within the rules he could figure out, and too much confusion.

As Madam Pince sent him away to get some rest, he shoved his hands in his pockets and walked straight to bed, falling asleep in his clothes.

* * *

"So, why did you want to get away?" Sirius asked as they stood in a deserted hallway. "And don't tell me you want to see Dumbledore, I could see right through that little façade."

"I just felt uncomfortable. He kept looking at me strangely. It got too much." She said, an apologetic tone to her voice. Sirius smiled sadly.

"So you don't like him?"

"Of course I like him. I don't sit the whole day with enemies." She said, leaning against the wall.

"I mean, you don't like him in the way that Remus cares about. Actually, he probably cares about platonic relationships with girls, too... Weird guy... But-"

"I can't think about him romantically." She said. "It's unethical."

"If you mean that because of what he is, he's better off without you." Sirius suddenly looked at Hermione in such a way that she felt smaller than a mouse.

"How can you say that! Of course it's not because of his lycanthropy! That doesn't bother me at all!" Her voice rose with each word. "It's because I have to _leave_ soon, and I don't want to get close to anyone before I go."

"Oh." Sirius scratched his neck, looking away. "Well, you could keep in contact with him when you go..."

"Impossible." She sighed.

"How come you weren't bothered about all of this when you were going to snog Snivellus? You should give Remus a chance. It's only fair."

"You don't give up easily, do you?"

"Not when it comes to friends." He pulled her into a manly, one armed hug. "So that's a yes?"

"What would I be agreeing to?"

"I'll get back to you. If he's anything like I think he is, James will be sleuthing as we speak."

Hermione giggled and the two set off walking towards the Gryffindor common room. Neither of them had noticed Severus lurking in the shadows, listening to every word.

* * *

"Draco, wake up." He felt a hand on his shoulder. He blinked and saw Lily leaning over him.

"Hi..." He smiled and moved to sit up.

"No, shh..." She pushed him back and climbed into the bed, drawing the curtains closed around them. "I'm sorry for ignoring you today. I didn't want James to know about..."

"I know." He spared her the distress of speaking of it. "It was wrong. We shouldn't... Not when you and him are together. Just don't ignore me again, okay?"

"Okay." She laced her arms around him and hugged him tight. He tensed for a moment, before hugging back.

"You should get to bed. If anyone knows you're here, they'll get the wrong idea."

She nodded and swept out of the dorm, leaving Draco wide awake and even more confused than before.

* * *

A/n: Whitby, a muggle town indeed. It's in North East England, about 4 or 5 hours car journey from London. It's a pretty little coastal town with a history. A lot of people go there for seaside holidays. It has some ties to Dracula (I think...) and other horror stories. In fact, there are a series of (Possibly kids) "scary" books called "Whitby witches". There's also this fish and chip place, called "The Magpie Café", and all year round, no matter the weather, there's a HUGE queue for the food from there. I don't know why, but this seemed like a very fitting place for Remus to live. Maybe because it's such a loved place, where so many people have so much fun and such memorable times, but at the same time it has darker aspects to it... shrug 


	11. Chapter Eleven

A/N: Hm. My apologies in advance: This chapter has near enough no mention of Draco, only 1500 words (Or less) to describe weeks, was supposed to hold the answers to MANY questions, but whaddayaknow, me being a complete wreck whilst writing it (For the fifth time...) made me add more questions and no answers! It's basically to get the story moving.

If you've reviewed and I don't respond here, it's simply because I'm just replying to the reviews for the last chapter. By no means should you think that I'm not extremely grateful for the time you've taken to read my story and review it to boot. :)

**Review replies:**

**Tiggersangel2001**, it's a Draco/Lily fic, but there is definitely going to be _something_ between Draco and Hermione in the not-too-distant future, be it platonic or not.  Thanks for reviewing.

**mAlFoYiSaWeSoMe**, thanks for reviewing! Sorry this update took longer than the others.

**Cold-eyes-for-you**, Thanks for the review. :) In the next chapter you'll get a hint to what Snape's going to do. I'm sorry about the lack of Draco and Lily in this chapter, I just wanted to get these three out of Hogwarts and into the company of a horrible OC... I was in a bad mood whilst writing. :P

**Fire-and-ice89**, I feel so bad now, hahah. I have had SUCH trouble writing this, and even though I do like writing the story, it's just been a terribly writers-blocky few days. Lurking in the shadows... Well, since Severus is quite dark (Black hair, robes, etc...) and the Hogwarts halls dimly lit (Are they, or is that my imagination?) and suits of armour are all around, he could just step closer to the walls, in the shadows, and be undetected. I'm the worst explainer in the world, hahah. Thanks for reviewing. :)

I used the summary you wrote for me, and I thank you from the bottom of my heart for it. :) My email address can't be displayed, for, alas, I have to use my sisters AOL account since my parents don't trust me enough anymore to give me anything above a "Kids" account. Which means no email, websites or anything. Really, there's no point in my account at all...

**Anglachel**, I think most of us would throw ourselves at Draco. ;D I'd throw myself at James, too, which leads me to believe that Lily is VERY resistant to any guys charms. Especially the pretty ones... loses self in daydream Thanks for the review. Hopefully, we'll have plenty more of Draco's woman troubles in the next chapter.

**Alenor**, thanks for coming back. :) I've had a complete "thing" for Hermione/Remus these past few days, so I had to express that. Though never, forget, not all is as it seems... (Though with me, it tends to be, because I suck at hiding anything.)

**Rocks-my-socks**, indeed, Draco has fallen hard for Lily. I feel bad for him, too... But who's to say he doesn't deserve it? He may be adorable, but he's still a git at the best of times. :P Thanks for reviewing.

* * *

As the weeks dragged by, bringing Christmas nearer, Hermione and Remus could very rarely be found apart. It was common knowledge throughout the school that the girl who "ditched that Snake guy at the ball" was now "dating the werewolf", much to everyone's disgust. But Hermione certainly didn't react to the rushed whispering of the students when she passed, in fact, she was so impassive about it all that she left many people wondering if she could actually hear them at all.

One Charms lesson, only two days before people were going home, Sirius dragged his rock (Which he was trying to turn into a goldfish, complete with bowl and water) over to where Hermione stood.

"How do you feel about spending Christmas with me and Remus?" He asked, ignoring the scowls from Professor McGonagall.

"Well, considering you'll be here and Remus will be in North Yorkshire, it's impossible." She looked up at him. "Why?"

"No reason..." He looked at Hermione's perfect goldfish bowl, which had a small fish swimming quickly around the ornamental castle within and back to his rock. "Only his Dad said he can bring a couple of friends over for the holidays. I'm going and he's going to ask you tonight, I just thought I'd give you a bit of warning..." He winked and grabbed Hermione's fish bowl. "Hey, look, Professor! I did it!"

Hermione and McGonagall rolled there eyes in unison.

* * *

"My parents said I could invite some friends over for the holidays..." Remus said, as he and Hermione walked around the icy lake that evening, wrapped up in thick cloaks to keep out the cold from the snow. "I was wondering if you'd want to come, since you'd be stuck here otherwise..."

"I'd love to." Hermione said, lacing her fingers between Remus'. "But I don't think Dumbledore would let me leave the school."

"We'll ask him, then. But not yet." Remus sat down on a large, flat rock, after wiping away the snow, effectively making Hermione sit beside him. He leant over, slowly wrapped his hands around her waist and kissed her, starting as soft as he always did, gentle, as if he was scared of hurting her. She bit his lower lip tenderly and flicked her tongue over it. All calm forgotten, he entangled his fingers into her hair and placed his other hand on her lower back, kissing her hungrily, a low growl rising in his throat. Hermione's breathing deepened and she slid her hands inside his cloak and up his shirt, her cold flesh touching his burning skin, making them both shiver.

"We should get back up to the castle and ask Dumbledore about you coming to stay." Remus said, pulling away from her.

Hermione nodded, feeling cold now that they weren't in the slightest bit of contact. He avoided holding her hand by shoving his own in his pockets as they walked back.

* * *

"Of course!" Dumbledore smiled after Hermione asked him. Remus had dragged Sirius off for an 'important talk', and so Hermione went to the Headmaster alone. "Mr Marley is going on vacation, therefore I see no problem with you attending the Lupin's. Very nice family."

"Thank you, sir." Hermione said before turning to leave. Draco had ran into her and told her of how he was going to James' for Christmas with him and Lily. Dumbledore let out a loud laugh, and Hermione had to wonder if he was drunk.

"Miss Smith," He said, eyes twinkling as they always seemed to. She walked back to him and he pressed a crisp wad of money into Hermione's hand. "I expect you already have the greatest present Remus could ask for. It's not a book, but that would be a good place to look. Your books, specifically..." He smiled knowingly, and she left the office, wondering exactly how much he'd had to drink and if she should let someone know.

* * *

"Quick! We'll miss the portkey!" Sirius shouted as Remus grabbed his last few possessions and threw them into his trunk. The headmaster had set up a portkeyso that they wouldn'thave to sit in a car for hours on end from King's Cross Station. Remus had ruled out travel by floo,saying that his mother, being a muggle, was extremely uncomfortable with people jumping from her fireplace.They left the dormitory at a run, Hermione joining the sprint from the common room. They arrived in Dumbledore's office with ten seconds to spare. They each reached out and touched the lamp on the Headmasters desk, and saw the man stood in the corner, waving to them as they felt the all-too-nauseating tug from behind their navels.

A sudden breeze made Hermione's eyes snap open. They stood on a beach, the freezing sea rolling in mere inches from their feet. Remus pointed up to a small cottage on the Cliffside, overlooking the raging ocean.

"That's where I live... Me, my mum and my dad."

"And Hannah." Sirius interjected. Remus frowned and said nothing.

"Hannah?" asked Hermione, shivering against the cold.

"Moony's little sister. They, uh, don't get along."

They walked up the winding path in silence, all a little out of breath. When they reached the door, Remus paused.

"If Hannah says anything to you, just ignore it." He warned. Sirius let out his bark-like laugh.

"She's not that bad, Remus." He hit him playfully with his free hand. Remus ignored him and pushed open the front door.

"Hey mam, dad!" He shouted. There was a pile of shoes by the door, which opened straight into the living room. Two sofas sat opposite each other, a coffee table between them, and at the far end of the room was a window overlooking the beach. On one of the sofas sat a girl with long ebony hair who was reading a fashion magazine. "They're out." She said coldly, not looking up from her publication.

"The ever wonderful Hannah." Remus muttered. Now the girl did look up from her reading.

"I didn't know you were bringing people here. A _girl_ at that." She seemed slightly amused, and Hermione couldn't help but to compare her voice to that of the fully grown Severus Snape.

"Congratulations, you can tell she's not a dude." Sirius laughed,oblivious to the tension in the room. "C'mon, let's get these trunks upstairs."

"You really think Mam's going to let a girl stay in your room?" Hannah smirked from the couch. "Girl, you'll have to sleep on the couch."

"My name is Amy." Hermione frowned at the girl.

"Amy, then. I know you wouldn't want to touch the savage with a bargepole, but my parents will think differently." Hermione saw Remus flinch out of the corner of her eye. She said nothing and made her way to sit opposite the other girl, who had resumed her reading. She could certainly see why Remus didn't like the girl; she was rude, inconsiderate, hurtful and seemed extremely emotionally detached. But she was also Hermione's host, so she had to make an effort.

"This is a great view." She smiled. The girl didn't look up, but spoke in an annoying drawl.

"It's better at night when the moon is full... I find it beatific. My favourite time of the month." The corners of her mouth twitched into a delicate smile. Hermione scowled and forgot her manners.

"Are you always horrible about your brother or is it just when your parents aren't here?"

"Amy, come on... We'll go into the kitchen." Remus said quietly. Hermione stood and saw him and Sirius stood at the bottom of the stairs, which were also in the living room. She walked over to Remus and placed one hand on his neck, the other on the beck of his head, fingers buried in his hair, and pulled him into a deep, sensual kiss. She hated this, kissing him with ulterior motives, but she felt that Hannah had to see, had to _know_ that she was alone in her opinions of him. When they broke apart, Remus led them through a door and they found themselves in a relatively bare but efficient kitchen with a dark dining table in the middle. Sirius ignored the seats and sat on the table.

"That was some show." Sirius laughed.

"That girl is positively... beyond words." Hermione said, exasperated. She pointed an accusatory finger at Sirius. "_You_ said she wasn't bad!"

"I meant bad looking." He shrugged indifferently. Remus glared at his friend, who ruffled his hair in response, before saying jokily, "Not a patch on you, though, Moony."

* * *

A/N: I just needed someone horrible there for Christmastime. For something always ruins the fun. But don't judge her just yet, it could just be extreme sibling dislikery. For lack of an existing word. :P

I don't know what I should do. Finish Christmas with the Lupins, then move on to the Potters, or have James, Draco and Lily in the next chapter? Or, as would probably be best, have both? Oh, the woes of me. :P


	12. Chapter Twelve

**A/n**: I pre-ordered HBP yesterday, at WHSmith in Teesside. It'll be opening at midnight, so I'll be there with bells on, though not literally. Contrary to popular belief, I do take note of fashion. I'm a toned down version of Hannah in this lil' tale. In more ways than one, actually (I'd hate to be my sibling, to put it lightly...)...

**A few short warnings:** Not much Draco, again. Sirius and Remus hold hands (Don't get your hopes up, fellow SBxRL slash fans, it's all platonic...). Also, my keyboard is going funny and keeps cutting out certain keys, but I don't always notice it... Sorry for any mistakes.

**Review Replies**:

**TiggersAngel2001**, I'm trying to put more Draco in. He will DEFINITELY have a big Christmas thingie happen, though I'm unsure of how to start it, so, of course, it's not in this chapter or the next... They'll have Christmas in the same chapter, though. :) Thanks for the review, as always.

**mAlFoYiSaWeSoMe**, yup, your opinion matters. :) Christmas is just around the corner and I've decided to lump them together, thanks to majority vote. Thanks for the review!

**Aleno**r, Hannah _is_ horrible so far, I know. She doesn't get much better, either, but... Well. I know what'll happen. :P Thanks for reviewing. :) (And, by the way, you guessed it in one!)

**Rocks-my-socks**, Yeah, I missed writing Lily, Draco and James, but I had absolutely NO IDEA what to write for them. At least you get some of them this chapter, though... Poor Draco. I really feel awful when I write such stuff about him. Thanks for the review!

**Silver Mayflower**, not only do you have a pretty username, you review my story! You're superhuman. ;P I had no idea Dracula took on the form of a dog (Call me stupid...) but wow. Thanks for letting me know, the luck, and thanks for the review, too. :)

**Fire-and-ice89,** I'm glad they're away from Hogwarts, too. It's an amazing place to read and write about, but some situations can't occur in a school, and it's always fun to create and show unseen parts of characters (for all we know, Remus is actually an only child who lives with a goat in a forest in Ireland...)... Plus I was feeling Christmassy the other day. :P I started reading the Harry Potter books when the first movie came out (I can hear people hiss at me from all over the globe...) and so I was too old t expect the letter... Poor me... But I always got excited when I saw an owl outside my house. Hahah... Thanks for the review! (and yes, I got a new reviewer. I'm eternally in your debt!)

* * *

"Hi, Mam." Remus smiled as a short, motherly looking woman with short black hair and deep blue eyes bustled into the kitchen, laden with shopping bags.

"Oh, Remy! We meant to get here before you got back but your dad stopped in the bookstore and you _know_ what he's like when he gets in there, ended up spending nearly more than we have! It's a good job we've already been Christmas shopping... When we got back here he realised he'd forgotten Hannah's celery, you know what she's like when we forget that, nearly all she eats..." she trailed off, seeing Sirius, who was giggling like a little schoolgirl and mouthing "Remy", and Hermione who was looking nervously at the woman who was, apparently, her boyfriends mother.

"This is Amy." Remus said, shooting Sirius a glare.

"Hello, dear, are you one of Hannah's friends?" Mrs Lupin asked her softly, with a smile very much like Remus'.

"No, she's here with me." Remus answered before Hermione could string an answer together. "You said I could bring some friends, and I told you I was bringing two over."

"I thought you were bringing James or Peter." Mrs Lupin frowned, eyeing Hermione suspiciously. "I'm not sure there's enough room... Not that I'm not delighted to meet you, Amy." She forced a smile, as did Hermione in response.

"If my being here is... Well, if you want me to, I could go back to Hogwarts for the summer. A girl in my dormitory was staying, too, so I'd not be alone." She kept the fixed smile on her face, though she couldn't help but to feel rejected.

"Amy, we're not kicking you out. I invited you here for Christmas and both you and my parents agreed to it." Remus said, anger and warning in his voice. They stood in a stony silence, which was interrupted by Hannah, who brushed her way into the room. Hermione could now see that the girl was very lithe, but attractively so. She also had the same intense eyes as her mother; in all honestly she looked like a stretched version of her, though the height could be put down to the four inch wedges she was wearing below the impossibly tight jeans, no doubt of the latest fashion, though Hermione was not very aware of trends in the seventies.

"Mam, did you get me any salad?" She asked, either ignorant or oblivious to the anxiety and other people in the room. The woman nodded and passed her daughter a small plastic container from one of the bags. Hannah took it with a smile of pure joy (_What a thing to be joyful about_, Hermione thought to herself, though said nothing.) and sat at the table, the seat furthest from the others.

"Remus, we don't have _space_." Mrs Lupin said after a second. She sounded sincerely sorry, but Remus didn't seem to care.

"Mam. You said I could invite friends, so I did. Me and Sirius will stay on the sofas in the living room, if you want, and Amy can sleep in my room."

"Oh, honestly, like I want to see your sleeping bodies when I get up. I'd rather have her in my room." Hannah said, lettuce leaf in hand. Mrs Lupin smiled.

"That's that, then!" The doorbell rang, just as Hannah was about to point out that she was joking, but Mrs Lupin ambled away. "It'll be your dad!"

* * *

And so it was. Mr Lupin was a very tall, very friendly man who practically scooped Remus, Sirius and Hermione up in his spare arm as soon as they'd greeted him. He launched himself straight into a conversation with Sirius about Quidditch - Apparently, they supported the same team.

"What are you kids doing today?" He asked after they'd finished their lunch of sandwiches – Or, in Hannah's case, carrot sticks.

"I'm going down into town. I got a new idea for a dress today, but I need some material for it... I'm a fashion designer." She added for Hermione's sake. "I still go to school, but that's honestly just a formality."

"Oh." Hermione said, quite surprised at being spoken to by this seemingly uncaring girl. "You, um, you make a lot of clothes, then?"

"Everything I wear, and I make some things for friends, too. I made him some dress robes a few years ago, but he _forgot_ to take them to school." She nodded towards Remus.

"I did!" He said, appalled. "Honestly, they were great! I just didn't pack my trunk until last minute and I forgot loads of stuff!"

"Whatever." She shrugged and left the room. Minutes later they heard the front door slam closed.

* * *

After a half hour of debating what to do, (Much to Hermione's outrage, Remus refused to go swimming without an explanation), they left the house.

"Your family's weird." Sirius laughed when they set off in the direction of the clustered buildings. "Hannah seems to be more pissed off than last time I was here."

"Yeah, well." Remus said shortly, stuffing his hands in his pockets. They walked in silence, Hermione lacing her arm through Remus', and Sirius rolling his eyes.

"S'closed!" Sirius shouted, outraged, pointing to the cinema in front of them as if they had no idea what he was talking about. Hermione slumped her shoulders and groaned.

"We walked right over here for no reason." She stated the obvious. "_Now_ can we swimming?"

"No!" Remus snatched his arm from hers, rougher than he meant to.

"Why not?" Hermione asked, looking at her now free arm with a saddened expression.

"Look, I don't ask where you come from, I don't ask about your parents, I don't ask about your old school OR why you're at mine, and you _have_ to know why I won't do _one_ thing?" He'd started off angrily but by the time he'd finished speaking it was barely above a whisper and his voice was hoarse. "Do you really want to know?" Hermione avoided looking at him and instead focused on the laces of her shoes. _Criss-cross, criss-cross, he has a right to his own secrets, criss-cross_. When she did look up, she saw Remus holding the edges of his jacket, sweater and tee shirt in his white-knuckled fist, his eyes closed tight. Sirius looked positively alarmed and batted his friend's hands off his clothing.

"Look, Amy, just... You know the way to the house. You go get some muggle clothes, your robes make you stand out a bit. I need to talk with Moony alone."

Sirius watched her nod, nearly in tears, and leave them without a word. Sirius took Remus' hand in his own and sighed as they set off walking back the way they came.

"Come on, Moony. That's no way to show her and you know it."

"She's going to hate me, Padfoot." Remus said as they got near the house.

"She won't hate you. She'll just be surprised. Come on, if it'll cheer you up I'll steal Hannah's celery."

Remus only laughed as they went into the house.

* * *

Hermione bought simple clothing. Numerous pairs of jeans, many tee-shirts, one with a serene looking wolf on the front, some more underwear (not that she was one for raunchy, outrageous garments, but the basic white cotton things the school had supplied her with were much too plain for her liking), two pair of shoes and some make-up. Despite the seemingly insipid impressions she seemed to make on people, even she was not immune to the boost of faux-confidence freshly applied make-up and a fancy outfit, teamed with a strong posture. She made her way into some public toilets to change.

She stepped back out onto the street wearing some tight blue jeans similar to those Hannah had been earlier wearing and a jacket buttoned up to the top, hiding the shirt underneath, though she had chosen to wear, without second thought, the wolf shirt. She frowned as she neared a grocery store, seeing a boy who looked _very_ similar to Severus Snape enter. She decided she wasn't ready to face Remus yet, not when she was still feeling hurt. She needed to be calm and in control of herself when she spoke to him. So she followed the Severus look-alike to pass the time, until she spotted him say something to someone else by the vegetables. When he scuttled away, she noticed the person he'd spoken to.

"Hi, Hannah." She idled up to her, and to her surprise, the slim, longhaired girl looked up and beamed.

"Hi Amy. My dad bought me celery puree, not celery, so I had to dash in here... Want company on the walk back up?"

"Sure. Who was that man?" She cursed herself for her bluntness.

"Oh, he wanted to know where the dairy aisle was, weird bloke..." Hannah laughed softly, but suddenly seemed icy again, dismissing every attempt Hermione made to start a conversation. Hermione forgot about the Snape look-alike as they trekked up towards the house. "You'd best take your things into my room if you'll be staying there." She said, a note of finality in her voice as she drifted into the kitchen.

* * *

"Oh! Sorry, I thought this was your sister's room..." Hermione made to leave Remus and Sirius in the very untidy, very blue room, which she took to belong to the former.

"I need to talk to you." Remus stood up and walked past Hermione, into the room opposite. She followed, to find herself in a room as different to Remus' as she could imagine. Everything was black or white, minus the rainbow of colour escaping from the open wardrobe door.

"Let me go first." Hermione said. "Sit down and don't talk until I'm finished. And don't leave until I'm done, either." She took a deep breath. "I'm from the future. Twenty years in the future. Well, not exactly, obviously, since I've been here for a month already. I attend Hogwarts in my time, and me and Draco are basically sworn enemies there, which is weird since I'm starting to think he's an okay person, but that's not the point." She sighed and threw herself onto one of the beds. "That's why I don't know when I'm leaving, because I don't know if I ever can and it's all so _insane_, part of me still thinks this is a horrible dream, and every part of me knows that it's wrong for me to be here and spending Christmas with you and Sirius! Honestly, Harry would kill for this opportunity and here I am wishing I was home with MY mother instead of inflicting myself upon yours, and I'm pretty sure she doesn't like me already, but maybe everyone thinks like that. Oh _honestly_, I'm rambling!" She sat up and put her head in her hands, waiting for the explosion.

"I suspected this." Remus said, and although her eyes were pressed tightly closed, trying to keep the tears within, she could tell he was smiling softly. "Time turner. I felt it the first time I hugged you..." Hermione felt the bed sink next to her, and Remus' arm drape over her shoulders. "I didn't want to jump to conclusions... Who's Harry?"

"James' son." She raised her head and turned to look at him. "And you realise how much I could be screwing up the world by telling you that?"

"Shh, don't worry about it." He pulled her into a warm, loving hug. "I won't tell James. Who's the lucky mother?"

"I'd best not say..." She started, but sighed and confessed. "Lily."

"So old Prongs wins her over in the end... Who'd've known? Other than you or Draco, I mean..."

Hermione let out a soft laugh and tears escaped with it. She brushed them away, hoping he didn't realise.

"What did you want to talk about?" She asked him. He shook his head.

"It doesn't matter anymore." He kissed her gently on the forehead and added silently to himself, '_You're upset enough as it is._'

* * *

Draco sat in the living room of Godric's Hollow with Lily. James was in the shower, taking forever, as always, and leaving the two alone together for an agonising amount of time. As always, Draco was contemplating leaning over and kissing the fire-haired girl, and as always, he ended up staring gormlessly into space while a fully-fledged war ensued inside his chest. On the one hand, they had kissed an insane amount of times now, so there was _obviously_ something there. On the other hand, they'd agreed those kisses were mistakes and agreed to stop it, especially since James was opening up his home to them. _But James isn't in here right now..._ Draco grinned to himself, but he sighed and slouched in the chair when the guilt remained very adamant in his mind.

"Lily." He said quietly. She looked up at him and smiled. He opened his mouth to say something else, but James chose that moment to stroll in wearing nothing but a towel flung casually around his waist. Lily completely forgot Draco was there and smiled at her boyfriend. _He doesn't deserve her._ He told himself, though there was no basis for his argument. He must have looked jealous, because James grinned at him, clapped him on the shoulder and said, "Do 1000 sit ups a day for a year and you'll have abs like this, too. Or I could teach you the spell, but it'd cost you." Draco just glowered and turned away, paying a strange amount of attention to the stitching in the armrest of the sofa, praying for sunset so that he could sneak off to bed.

That night, however, as Draco stared at the ceiling in his insomniatic state, Lily entered his room.

"Draco?" she called out nervously, quietly. He pushed himself up into a sitting position.

"What?" He asked, his tone much colder and harsher than intended, but she walked over to the bed nonetheless and sat atop it.

"Blah blah blah, you could get caught, blah ruin Christmas blah, never forgive yourself... Do I have to do this every time we're alone together or can I stop it now?"

"Stop it." She launched herself onto him, kissing him rougher than ever before. He allowed the harsh kisses, indeed, he returned them, but the gnawing guilt that usually faded with her closeness instead grew more and more severe. He pushed her away after a second.

"God, Lily, what's wrong with you? You act all perfect and guilt-ridden when I try to do anything with you, you act all perfect and loved-up whenever Potter comes in the same room as you, but then at night you come into _my_ room like this embodiment of perfection, _crawl_ into my _bed_ and expect _me_ to tell _you_ how this is perfect and let you use me and then repeat the whole thing. But nobody uses a Malfoy and gets away with it. Nobody." He stopped ranting and walked over to the window, looking out at the near-full moon.

"Draco?"

"What?" He spat.

"You're not a Malfoy."

"I said Marsnip." He covered, then remembering that that certainly wasn't his faux-name, he swore very loudly.

"Draco, sit down and tell me what the hell is going on."

So he did.

* * *

A/N: So, not much here. But Remus and Lily know they're from the future now, so all's good.

And also... WAHOO! OVER FIFTY REVIEWS! My life has been _made..._ Many maracuyas to each and every one of you!


	13. Chapter Thirteen

A/N: My mum woke me up and said "Cera, are you coming to Wetwang?". I can honestly say that's the _worst_ wakeup call of my life. But it turns out it's a place! By the time I realised that (I thought my mum was just having a 'round-the-twist' day) they'd already set off. So I'm having a nice relaxing day at home (Like I do every day, but today I'm wearing a gypsy skirt... It's amazing that I wear such clothes around the house, then leave wearing jeans and a £2 top from a supermarket...)...

WARNING! The guys hug. Aww.

* * *

"What're you doing today?" Asked Mr Lupin, very much like Hermione's own father, asked them at breakfast. Hannah popped another grape into her mouth along with a spoon of low-fat yoghurt.

"I'm finishing that dress." She ate another grape. Hermione suppressed a groan. She'd been kept awake nearly all night by the sewing machine in Hannah's room.

"We're going swimming." Remus said reluctantly. A dish broke on the floor and the room went silent. "What? I remember how, you know." He stirred his coco pops and could practically feel everyone's gazes burning into him.

"You don't have any swim-shorts." Mrs Lupin said, picking up the bowl pieces after she regained her composure.

"I'll buy some. We have to get Amy a bathing suit anyway, and I suspect Sirius... At his house... He needs something, too." He said, obviously not wanting to openly admit knowing of Sirius' skinny-dipping so early in the day.

"Are you sure?" Sirius asked him, eye full of concern, though a slight smile was playing on his face. Remus just looked at his friend.

"I've got an idea, I'll drive you all into Scarborough, you can do some Christmas shopping. The clock's ticking, you know." Mr Lupin forced a smile. Remus rolled his eyes.

"Honestly, listening to you, people will think I'm allergic to water or something." He stood up and put his bowl on the draining board before leaving the room. When no one made an effort to speak, Hermione and Sirius left the kitchen, too, and went upstairs to get coats and money. Sirius caught Remus alone and asked him in a low voice.

"Are you sure?"

"One hundred percent."

* * *

A green bikini and some black swim-shorts later, the three headed off to the swimming baths. Hermione left them to go into the Female changing rooms and stared at herself in the mirror. There was only one word to describe this newly acquired item: _Revealing._ She hurried to get in the pool before the others emerged.

Remus was having second thoughts. He tried to cover the mutilated flesh up his left side with his arms, but was unable to do so effectively, and only brought more attention to it. Sighing, he ran his fingertips over the hideous scars where the werewolf had torn at his skin mercilessly. He dropped his hand as tears began to well in his eyes. He would _not_ let this get the better of him. He closed his eyes and was instantly flooded with both memories of the wolf, as well a fleeting image of Hermione recoiling in horror at the sight of him. He opened his eyes to see Sirius behind him, looking at the reflection of them both in the mirror.

"C'mon, Moony. I'll give you a piggy back, she won't see." He said, knowing what his friend was thinking. Remus turned and embraced the other boy, burying his face into his shoulder. Before he could stop it, he broke down, heart wrenching sobs escaping him. Sirius just held the other boy in his arms, rocking him slightly and saying words of comfort, until the crying stopped.

"God, you must think I'm pathetic." Remus pulled away, his face flushed, cheeks wet.

"You know I never would." Sirius crouched down and Remus jumped onto his back. They left the changing room in a flash and Sirius launched the two of them into the surprisingly warm water. When he surfaced, Remus looked around for Hermione, only to find her treading water at the other side of the pool. He made his way over to her and Sirius doggy-paddled after them with difficulty.

"This is hard." He called out. Hermione laughed and Remus pulled him to the side where he held on as if for dear life, getting a few strange looks from the minority of other morning swimmers.

After a short while, Sirius relaxed and challenged the others to a very basic competition – See Who Can Stay Under The Water Longest.

"Ok, but no magic." Remus scowled. He was getting slightly annoyed being the only underage wizard in the Christmas trio.

"Where, exactly, do you think we have our wands?" Hermione asked. Sirius barked with laughter. "Just let me go get a pair of goggles, I'd have a panic attack if I opened my eyes and couldn't see..."

Sirius let out a low whistle when she left the pool.

"Wish me luck." Remus sighed as Hermione dived back into the water and made her way back to the boys. She snapped on the goggles and pried Sirius from the edge. When they were a good two metres from the side, Sirius counted down from three. They all plunged under the water, breathing stopped. Hermione blinked and looked around as she always did when she was in a pool. The legs of the few other swimmers, too involved in their own lengths and games to pay attention to the three in the centre, Sirius, legs flailing wildly, and Remus. She frowned, seeing something on his ribs. She rubbed the goggle-lenses with her hands to see if it was something on them. The marks were still there. She grabbed Remus arm and surfaced, bringing him with her.

"You've got something on you." She pointed to her own side to show him where. He closed his eyes momentarily and bit his lip.

"It's why no one wanted me to come. It's where the werewolf..." He trailed off, not looking at her, knowing he wouldn't be able to handle the sight of her backing away from him like the monster he was. She dived under the water again and swam uncomfortably close to him, looking at the disfiguration. This wasn't what he'd expected. He frowned and saw Sirius raise, about to shout something out, but he shook his head, signalling for him to stay quiet. Suddenly, Remus felt something – Hermione's lips. She was _kissing_ his ribs, where the marks began. This _certainly_ wasn't what he'd expected.

Hermione pulled herself to the surface again, taking a much needed gulp of air. Looking back, it was obvious that this was what he'd been hiding – whenever she'd touched his skin underneath his clothes and he'd pushed her away, he'd been trying to keep this a secret. She kissed him quickly on the lips and moved to whisper into his ear;

"Thank you."

* * *

Draco was lying in bed scowling at the ceiling, as was his usual pastime. Also part of the norm were his thoughts of Lily. _Stupid mu..._ but he just couldn't bring himself to finish that thought. Instead, an image of Harry came, uninvited, into his mind, a reminder that James would have her in the end. Or would he? Draco had never looked into the details of time-travel. Even whilst here, in the past, he'd only looked for a way to get back to the future. Could he change everything? Could he change the past? Could he _eliminate_ Potter from the world, as he'd wished he was able to so many times before? But he didn't want to. Without Harry, Voldemort would have risen to be even more powerful. Without Harry, Draco would either be dead or a Death Eater by now. And here he was, risking all of this, risking every strong-willed persons life in the future just for some fleeting romance.

He pulled himself up and out of his thoughts and grabbed some parchment, ink and a quill from his trunk, pausing between each sentence he wrote to scratch his chin with the quill as he thought.

_Professor Dumbledore,_

_I wish to return to Hogwarts for the remainder of the holiday in order to find a way to get away from here and back to my own time. My mere being here could ruin more lives than you could imagine in the future. It could make the world a living hell._

_Draco Marley_.

He smiled sadly and went to ask James if he could borrow his owl. A few hours later, a bird tapped on the window of the room Draco was staying in. He sighed and grabbed the parchment, ready to apparate to Hogsmeade. Only the letter wasn't giving him permission to leave. It wasn't even from Dumbledore.

_Hi Draco,_

_Mr and Mrs Lupin heard that you, Lily and James are going to be alone in the house, and they were more than slightly annoyed. They want the three of you to come over for dinner, and perhaps stay the night. We're expecting you at six. I'll warn you in advance; Remus has a muggle mother and sister. His sister actually reminds me of you a little, but that's not the point. You _can't _use magic around either of them_, _it's against the law._ _James knows where the house is, he'll tell you and Lily. See you tonight!_

_Hermione._

Ugh. He was going to have to tolerate Lily, Hermione, a werewolf, a murderer AND two muggles for a night? Perfect.

* * *

A/n: ... go yoghurt, go yoghurt, go go go yoghurt! (For lack of anything intelligent to say...) 


	14. Chapter Fourteen

A/N: The song Sirius is singing is "No One Lives Forever" by Oingo Boingo. Darling Doggy... Remus' darling doggy... giggles Good lord I need to get a grip. xD;

**Review Replies:**

**Alenor**, Thanks! I was really hoping that people didn't find Hermione's reaction a little too OOC, and so I'm REALLY glad you like it! Since you're looking forward to dinner at Lupin's, I won't cut it out (As I intended to do... tut tut...). It'll be in the next chapter. Wahoo. :D Thanks again.

**Anglachel**, They SHOULD hook up, I agree. Only... It'd have to be after Sirius... went away (:P), because he and Remus belong together. Remus and Sirius... **squee**... Thanks for the review, I hope this is good enough for you. :)

**Tiggersangel2001**, Thanks a lot:) It was quite a cute moment, wasn't it? I might put in some more cute Remus-revealing-stuff-to-Hermione things... They're fun to write, Teehee. Ah well, enjoy!

* * *

Draco walked down the stairs of Godric's Hollow, letter in hand. He'd put off this moment long enough – He and Lily were avoiding each other like the plague, and had spent the time since his confession in opposite sides of the rather large house. He got to the hallway and paused as he reached for the doorknob. A scream. It sounded like James. He frowned, not sure he wanted to walk in on whatever was going on in there. Another scream. It certainly wasn't a pleasant scream. A thud. Muffled voices came through the door, but one all-too-familiar voice said one word very clearly.

"Crucio."

"NO!" He threw the door open and ran into the room without a second thought, wand held ahead of himself, pointing at his twenty year old father. "Don't hurt her!"

* * *

Sirius, Hannah, Remus and Hermione sat in the kitchen. Hannah was stood at the worktop by the window, carefully cutting strips of ribbon from a very long roll. Hermione and Remus were playing normal chess; neither were very good at the game and so it was quite dull, though both were absorbed. Sirius was pacing the room, bored, when an overwhelming urge to sing struck him.

"Let's have a party, there's a full moon in the sky!" He sang. When everyone ignored him, he continued. "It's the hour of the wolf and I don't wanna-"

"Sirius, shut _up_." Said Remus through his clenched teeth. "I'm losing and you're not helping." This just seemed to spur the singer on.

"You think you got it rough? What about your _darling doggy?_"

"Sirius, shut _up_." Hermione said, the exact same tone as that Remus had used. He didn't care.

"Drink to bones that turn to dust, 'cos no one, no one, no one, no one-"

"FOR GOD'S SAKE!" Hannah screamed. Everyone stopped what they were doing and turned to her. No one moved for a second, but then the girl turned, scissors still in hand, walked up to Remus and cut a large chunk from his hair. "That's what you get for bringing _that_ into my house." She spat, gesturing to Sirius with the pale hair in her hand. She threw the scissors into the sink and stormed out of the room, and after getting her jacket, out of the house.

* * *

His father smiled sadistically, watching the effect of the curse on Lily. Draco surveyed the scene he'd walked into. James was lying unconscious on the floor, blood oozing slowly from where it seemed he'd hit his head on the coffee table as he fell. Lily was lying near him, arms twitching. Both of their wands were feet away from them. His father stood, illuminated by the window light, looking untouchable and calm.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr Marley." Lucius drawled. Draco noticed a piece of parchment grasped in his fathers hand. "Your friends were very reluctant to tell me your whereabouts. Little did they know you were to make their suffering fruitless by sauntering in as if nothing was happening... It's rather amusing..."

"You're _sick_." Draco spat. Never in his own time would he have said such things to the man in front of him, but such rage had filled him up, such a desire to... No. He blinked, trying to regain a slight bit of sanity. Lucius' file didn't falter.

"You should have devised a code with Dumbledore. Owl mail is despicably easy to intercept."

"My letter..." Draco's gaze fell involuntarily on the parchment in Lucius' hand.

"Why, yes. A dear friend of mine told me that two new students of a _questionable_ origin had enrolled at Hogwarts. Of course, the Dark Lord wasn't happy being uninformed... Imagine his delight when I told him you were from the future..." Lucius smiled even wider. James stirred. "A useful thing, time-travel..."

Draco scowled. He wasn't one for quick thinking. He saw Lily move slightly out of the corner of his eye.

"A person from the future," Lucius continued to talk slowly, emphasising every word, wand still pointed at Lily. "Could tell the Dark Lord who he should overcome quickly, who his main opponents are, any unseen flaws in his plans..."

"Well, why would I tell you anything?" He needed time. He needed a plan. He needed – Oh, hell, he needed Hermione. He was going to apparate, but he couldn't leave James and Lily here like this.

"You will tell me or you will receive the same treatment as these two." He gestured dismissively to the bodies on the floor.

"Fine." Draco said, still scowling. He saw Lily stare at him with some unidentifiable emotion. He had a plan.

* * *

Sirius grabbed his wand and muttered something, and Remus' hair was instantly back to how it had been before.

"I learned that the hard way. Bit of a nutcase this year, isn't she?" He smiled nervously. Remus didn't answer, but rose from his seat and walked out of the house without so much as a goodbye or grabbing a jacket. Sirius walked towards the door, but Hermione stopped him.

"Maybe we should leave him alone. He might just need to..." She left the sentence open.

"Look, if you want to let him go out there and freeze to death, that's fine, but don't expect me to do the same." Sirius snarled. Hermione stayed stood in the doorway, blocking his path.

"He's not _stupid_, Sirius."

"You think I don't know that? Bloody hell, Amy! We were all managing fine before you came, you know. You have no right to come into _my_ life and order _me_ around." He pushed her aside and walked straight out of the door, muttering.

* * *

"Which 'Dark Lord' are you talking about?" Draco took a breath and tried not to flinch or stutter. "Voldemort?" He smiled softly inwardly. "Or that Malfoy guy?"

It worked. The smile was no longer on Lucius' face. Draco could feel the blood pounding in his ears, could feel the agony hanging in the air, ready to drop if Lucius would not fall for his lies. He saw James crawl over to Lily and he felt even worse than before.

"Malfoy, you say?" Lucius whispered. His focus was now on Draco, not Lily or James. It took all he had not to smile.

"Yes, I forget his first name, but he got a lot of power in the 1980's. There was something about him killing his father, Lucy, or something, a bit later on... I never paid much attention in history though."

The look on Lucius' face was priceless, and if the situation weren't so terrifying, Draco would have laughed aloud. He looked between the three in the room. He was ready to fall apart – their lives depended on his acting skills, which, to be honest, were hardly Oscar-worthy.

"You don't want to do that." He said, sounding surer than he felt of anything right then, as Lucius raised his wand and pointed it at James. "These two play a very significant role in the events tied to the people I mentioned before..." No way in hell was he saying Voldemort again. "I'll answer any questions you or your Lord want answering, but it'll have to wait. I have to make sure something goes smoothly tonight or I won't exist in the future, so I won't exist now... I'll basically cease to exist altogether... You'll find me here tomorrow. I'll be happy to help."

A firm nod and a loud crack later, Lucius was gone.

"I never thought I'd call _his_ bluff... Quick." Draco said to the others. He felt like sitting there and crying, but he had to keep himself together, for another minute, at least. "We need to get Hermione. Can you apparate to Lupin's?"

They didn't ask who Hermione was or what had just happened, James just told Draco where to go, and they left together.

* * *

A half hour later, Sirius and Remus walked through the front door to see Hermione at on the sofa, staring blankly into space. Sirius simply glowered and he and Remus walked upstairs. Hermione snapped from her daze and walked after them. She stormed into his room and saw the two sat on Remus' bed. She didn't want to seem like she was against them, that was no way to act, so she threw herself between them and asked;

"Why is Hannah so horrible to you? Why don't you or your parents even _care_ about it? Why... just _why_?"

Before anyone had a chance to say anything, Draco, Lily and James, all in quite a state, appeared in front of them.

"We need to get to Dumbledore. Now." Draco choked out. No one moved. "NOW! Don't you understand? Hermione, he knows we're from the future." At this, Remus jumped up, led them to the living room, and waited until everyone else had gone before he followed. Spinning to Dumbledore's office in the sickening green flames, all he could think about was how beautiful a name Hermione was.

* * *

A/N: I now have the Spanish OotP. The other Marauders call Remus "Lunático". What is with that? How is that the equivalent of Moony? Wait! goes in search of the other nicknames

Moony Lunático

Wormtail Cola Gusano

Padfoot Canuto

Prongs Cornamenta

Lets just say. I. Am deeply. Disturbed. (Yet somewhat amused...) pushes "Harry Potter Y La Orden Del Fénix" under the bed and lets it fester there until she regains sanity

Okay. I've just pictures of naked Thewlis. My sanity is NEVER returning.


	15. Chapter Fifteen

A/N: I moved the ANs to the bottom of the page. For your sanity and convenience. But just so this doesn't look empty (Or because I could complain for England...) OUCH! My new, cute, "comfortable" wedges have wreaked havoc on my feet. I'm blistered and unable to walk and grgh. And also, I think I'm allergic to Pop Tarts aswell as Red Wine.

**Review Replies:**

**xoKaSsIeox, **Yay Draco indeed! He was so Gryffindor in that chapter, Teehee. Thanks for the review.

**Mubaki, **thanks! Hope you come back to read more. :D

**Take Twice Daily, **Thank you! You like my notes? Holy cadoodle, is this the chapter for you! ;P

**Anglachel, **Yes, Naked Thewlis. Quite mentally scarring... (But doesn't the curiosity just kill you?)... Ahem. Not me in my best light, there. I would have emailed you, but your entire address didn't show. :( Feel free to drop me a message, though. I'm like a puppy. Who likes getting e-mail. Thanks for the review. :)

**Rocks-my-socks, **I did it wonderfully? shocked beyond words Thanks much!

**Alenor, **I'm so sorry that the dinner is such a sham. Ask me to write anything in and I will, just this chapter got the worst of me and I could hardly keep my fingers on the keys long enough to type a word... I hope you like it, anyway, though I'll collapse from shock if you do. : Thanks for the review!

**RemusLupinIsMine, **I loved just typing your username. ;D Thanks for your enthusiasm! I'll be keeping an eye out for the fic you're thinking of writing. I really appreciate your review. :)

**ON WITH THE SHODDY SHOW!**

* * *

"Lucius Malfoy has been taken to Azkaban." Dumbledore said as soon as Draco fell out of the fireplace. Draco instantly relaxed, only to see Snape sat in a chair opposite Dumbledore's desk.

"What's he doing here?" Sirius spat. Dumbledore conjured several more chairs, and ordered the marauders, Draco, Hermione and Lily to sit. They did so, Sirius and James equally reluctant, taking the seats furthest from Snape. No one spoke for a number of minutes.

"Well?" Asked Remus. "What's going on?"

"Me and Hermione are from the future..." Draco started, but had no way to continue. He stopped talking again and looked at Lily and James; both appeared ready to collapse, and Draco couldn't blame them. Unforgivable curses were hardly to be taken lightly. They'd been close to their deaths and they knew it. So did Draco, and to be honest, it frightened him to hell and back.

"You're Hermione?" Sirius felt the need to ask 'Amy'. She nodded.

"We were brought back 20 years..." Hermione said, uncertainty in her voice. She still didn't know why they were here. "My name is Hermione Granger. Draco is Draco Malfoy. We had to keep it a secret so that we didn't change anything in the future..." She trailed off in a manner similar to that of Draco.

"Why? I mean, you don't know us in the future, do you? How can it change the future if we know you're from there?" This was Lily, looking completely bemused. Dumbledore spoke up.

"I will not stop anyone within this room passing information to the others in here. But you must consider the consequences of your actions beforehand. This is not the time or place to divulge the futures secrets. We have more pressing issues at hand. Godric's Hollow was intruded by Lucius Malfoy, earlier, I believe. He had been informed of the arrival of two new students, and wanted to intervene, of course. He monitored Mr Malfoy's – his future son's – mail, searching for anything 'incriminating', and found a letter mentioning the future. He went to retrieve Draco and take him to Voldemort-" a collective shudder "-and boast of finding a time-traveller to help him rise to power. He used unforgivables on Mr Potter and Miss Evans, I believe, in an attempt to get them to tell him where Draco was. When Draco walked into the room in which they were, I believe he scared his father away, and he was found a mile away moments later by an Auror who took him to Azkaban. He has been found out; a Death Eater, it would seem."

Everyone turned to stare at Draco, who simply nodded and stared at his knees.

"But who tipped this Malfoy guy off?" Sirius frowned, returning his gaze to Dumbledore. The headmaster said nothing but turned his gaze to Snape. Before anyone had a chance to prevent it, James had one hand around Severus' throat, keeping him pressed into the chair, the other held his wand, which was pointed right between the Slytherins eyes.

"James..." Lily said, but there was no true conviction behind it. Where James had seemed to discover an untapped source of energy, Lily looked as if she _was_ this newly exploited source.

"Evans, this is his fault!" He snarled.

"Mr Potter, please sit down." Dumbledore said quietly. James looked torn, he glanced between everyone and then threw himself into his seat again. "Severus _did_ inform Mr Malfoy of Miss Granger and the younger Mr Malfoy, but he did not reveal it as you expect he did."

"Oh, so what, it just cropped up in the conversation?" Sirius asked sarcastically.

"Indeed." Snape spoke for the first time. He didn't elaborate.

"Well?" James asked, incredulously. Snape smirked.

"Well what?" James stood up and ran his fingers through his hair and began pacing the room. He stood looking out of the window, hand rising to his hair, as if this were comforting him n some way. After a moment, he spoke.

"You were talking about Amy... Hermione..." Snape nodded, smirk gone. Hermione bit her lip, suddenly feeling responsible for what had happened. Remus seemed to pick up on this and dismissed it aloud.

"Professor, Mrs Lupin was going to make dinner for us all... Uhm, should we let her know we won't be going?" Sirius leaned back in his seat as he spoke. He looked nearly as exhausted as Lily.

"Not going? I won't be making any excuses for you today, Mr Black." Everyone frowned. "Severus is staying in the castle for the remainder of the holiday, and as Lucius Malfoy is currently in Azkaban, awaiting trial, I daresay word will not slip of anyone's whereabouts, or even of where Hermione and Draco are from. Have a pleasant Christmas."

He said nothing as, one by one, the students departed, but he was not surprised to see Draco hesitating to leave.

"Professor, in the future, if my dad's in Azkaban, will I still... Will I still exist in the future?"

"When you stop existing in the future, you will stop existing here." Dumbledore said simply. Draco nodded and stepped into the fire.

* * *

"This is delicious." Lily smiled politely as she ate another forkful of cabbage. They were having nothing more than a Sunday dinner, but her opinion was well-founded. It was _delicious_. Remus wasn't overly hungry, he never was the day before his transformation. He sighed and looked at the people cramped around the table.

He was wedged between Sirius and James, who, considering they'd been about to pass out in Dumbledore's office, were eating with admirable enthusiasm. Opposite them, sat Draco, looking very much as if he'd rather be eating burning coals with the devil for company, Hermione, who threw nervous glances around every two seconds, Hannah, who picked at her vegetables as if she were above eating them, and Lily, rather rejuvenated, sat, each looking distressed but happy at the prospect of a good nights sleep and Christmas shopping the following day. At each end of the table, Mr and Mrs Lupin sat, smiling and making easy conversation. They didn't know about Hermione and Draco being from the future, or the attack on Godric's Hollow, and as far as Remus was concerned, never would.

"I should go upstairs, now..." He said softly, rising from his seat. "You'll be okay on the sofa, Sirius?" He nodded. Hermione quickly wolfed down the rest of her dinner and joined him. "You don't have to come, you know." He said as they walked up the stairs, though he was grateful she had followed. She closed the door between them as they entered his room.

"I'll fasten them." She said as he struggled to shackle himself to the chains on the wall. He brushed her off.

"You're not chaining me up, A-Her... What do you want me to call you, anyway?"

"I don't care what you call me; just let me fasten them... Are you wearing clothes while you transform? Won't they be ruined?"

"Well, yeah..." He paused. He didn't want Hermione to see him naked but he really did like this outfit. He let go of the chains and shrugged out of his shirt, unfastened his jeans and let the material pool around his ankles. He tried not to blush as he stood in his underwear, decided that he could definitely live without them in the future, and left them on as he struggled with the chains again.

"Let me do it." She repeated. He, once more, refused. "Honestly, Remus, just let me do it. I won't think any less of you if you let me fasten you up." He frowned.

"Why would you?"

"I don't know, the fact is, I won't, so let me." He surrendered. She tied him up, kissed him softly and made to leave the room, sunset fading through the window.

"Please don't go." He didn't mean to say it, but it spilled from his mouth before he had chance to even think about stopping it. She nodded understandingly and sat on his bed. "I mean, if you want to, you can, but I mean-"

"Will you be strong enough to come shopping tomorrow?" She cut him off. He looked at the ceiling, in thought.

"Probably. I'll have to use Sirius to prop me up, most likely, but I'll make it." He flashed a quick, unsure smile. She returned it.

"I've no idea what to buy anyone. I don't know if their 17 year old selves will want the same as they would in my time..."

"You know us?" Another smile toyed with his lips. She bit her lip.

"Me, Ron and Harry have certainly talked about you all."

"Ron... Who's he?"

"Ron Weasley. Molly Prewitt and Arthur Weasleys son... He's Harry's best friend." She said, she forced a smile but it never reached her eyes. Remus longed to hug her, to kiss her, to make her forget them, as awful as that sounded, but to make her lose the pain she felt when she thought of them, but, of course, the chains restrained him.

"I hope you said good things." He said after a moment. She smiled.

"About you we did... You were the best at your profession."

"What do I work as?" The moon would shine through, soon, he thought, biting his lip.

"I can't say."

"Do you think of me as old?"

"What?" She looked taken aback.

"Now, I mean, I'm toeing forty in your time, so even though I'm your age here, do I seem _old_ to you?"

"No..."

"Get out. Now."

"Pardon?"

"GET OUT!"

He watched her flee the room and a cry escaped him. The pain was familiar, but that was certainly no comfort. He fell; the chains keeping him suspended, unable to crash to the ground. As he did every 28 days, he willed for it to stop. It never did.

* * *

Hermione didn't sleep that night. She tossed and turned, not because of the whirring of the sewing machine in the room, not because of the sudden change in temperature of the room, but because of the screaming in the next room. She couldn't hear it, of course, the silencing charm on Remus' room prevented that, but she knew it was there. She could _feel_ the howls, _sense_ the wolf... She turned over again to see Hannah climbing into bed. She was asleep within seconds, leaving Hermione awake in solitude.

Hours later, sunlight slipped through the gap in the curtains, and Hermione got out of bed, clad in her fleecy pyjamas, and crept to Remus' room. She was almost blinded by the tiredness, but saw, nonetheless, Remus, human and struggling to stand. She helped him down without a word and the two collapsed onto his bed, neither had enough energy left to even realise he was naked, and fell into a deep sleep. As they fell, however, Hermione was sure she heard him whisper "I love you." She was just as sure she whispered the same back to him.

* * *

A/n: Sorry about the uneventful dinner. I honestly did want something to happen, but I just couldn't write this chapter at all, this dodgy splick is, unfortunately, the best it was gonna get. This is such a tiny chapter, too made up by my horrendous notes. EEh. Ah well, now you can send me hate mail!

**Horrendous notes:**

You know in news the other day is said people weren't allowed to use lyrics in their fics, did that only mean blatant songfics or would my Sirius-singing-sexily (Yay alliteration!) be against the rules, too? Hm. On with the chapter!

Actually, scrap that for now. In your reviews (Or, if you so desire, forget about reviewing and just answer me this); Do YOU think Sirius is dead? And elaborate as much as humanly possible. :) Is this even allowed? Well, if it isn't, I've put an email address up so you can email me your views on it. (Actually, if you so desire, you can email me about anything. Emails are fun.) So, yes. As much as I would love you to review, I'd love it more for you to give me your personal thoughts on the Sirius/Veil debacle. And with _that_, I'll write another chapter.

Actually, in a second (I promise I'll make it a really long chapter with lots of Draco AND lots of Hermione, and some Snape, Remus, Sirius, Lily, James, even Peter! Yes, I'll throw in that little rat...)... What is THE best fanfiction you've ever read? The most original plot, the best dialogue, the best everything, the most memorable. Which would it be? It doesn't have to be on of course. I'll honestly get writing now. I'll hopefully have this up tonight (29th...) for you all. If not, feel free to virtual-slap me.


	16. Chapter Sixteen

A/n: I just watched Gladiator. I cried. I would have loved that evil guy if he hadn't said the stuff about the little boy screaming like a girl. It angered me a slight. I know it's not real, but honestly, I was livid.

This chapter is being even worse than the last few to write, and that's saying something. I hate taking forever, because I have no excuses for it. I haven't much of a life, since everyone my age is at school/doing exam revision and whatnot. I haven't been focusing on mythology, photography, philosophy, languages, psychology, music or _anything_ I usually study to pass the time. Uh-oh, maybe someone's been possessing me. (I actually know full well that I've been sat downstairs watching Fashion TV or in bed rereading old magazines and books (Try "Coin Locker Babies" by Ryu Murakami), but I'm sure my parents would prefer the possession theory...)

**Review Replies:**

**Cold-eyes-for-you, **thank you so much! I really didn't respect people to be happy with that chapter; but this is a great surprise! I really hope this isn't too much of a disappointment for you...

**Rocks-my-socks,** Snape/Harry son fics are often good. :D They leave me feeling kinda bad for James, though. Thanks you so much, like I've said, I thought that chapter was utter... insert bad word :P, but I'm SO glad you liked it. Thanks for the review.

**Anglachel, **I cry when I read Sirius' displacement in OotP. But then again, I cry at anything sad in movies and books. It's like my eyes have a plumbing problem. Thanks for the review. I hope you like this chapter, though I doubt you will. :D

**RemusLupinIsMine, **there's a great fic out there about what's going on for Sirius behind the veil. It's called "Beyond The Veil", and it's by Helene. Not sure it's on but it's worth checking out. I admire you – I find it harder than anything to write something down and then type it up. I make too many changes (A good example of this is my "Who is responsible for the death of Romeo and Juliet?" essay transforming into a "Why Leonardo DiCaprio should NOT have played Romeo" rant in a mere type-up.)... I don't really have a routine that I write/upload this story by. Whenever I get the urge to write (Or as with this chapter, get the urge to hurry up and force another chapter out of myself) I will, and then I'll upload it either then or the following day. I really don't mind about the startings of stories, but I think I'd be more likely to read on that "threw you in at the deep end", so to speak. Don't worry about rambling, it's a sign of a great mind. ;D Thanks much for the review!

**Fire-and-ice89, **Yes, I read Spanish. :D I studied it in my old, old school for a couple years then taught myself when I left. I don't claim to be fluent, but it's allll good. I'm really not a funny person. I'm the girl who makes odd jokes and laughs at the slightest innuendo and points it out for all to see. People tire of me rather quickly, but I tend to tire of them even quicker, so all's well that ends well.

My schooling situation. Well, I've applied to college and whatnot to take psychology and re-take a few GCSE's... I intend to get a job when I turn 16 (Something very low-key, a burger-flipping job or something), too. After that, I've no idea what I'll do. I've certainly lost a lot of options by dropping out of school and everything, but I certainly don't regret it. :)

**Another A/N: **Oh, please, no "Remus is being OOC" for his not child-friendly thoughts. He's a 17 year old boy with a girlfriend. In England the age of consent is 16. Remus may be a little less rash and a lot more... thingy (I never said I was eloquent) than Sirius and James, but he's hardly hormone-less. Sex will be on his mind at one point or another. Same with Hermione, really, but we see none of that yet. Just... Don't hate me for trying to make him a little more real. Please.

* * *

Remus cracked open a bleary eye and half-heartedly looked around without moving. Hermione was curled into this side and breathing deeply and evenly, obviously still asleep. Winter sunlight was pouring through the window and he was- _Naked?_ He jumped out of bed instantly and grabbed some clothes from a pile on his desk, his body aching with every movement. He pulled on the clothes as quickly as his pain would allow him, then fell beck onto the bed, the sudden movement waking Hermione.

"Morning..." She smiled and stretched out her limbs before wrapping her arms around his neck. "it's strange waking up next to you..."

"It's strange for me to wake up next to anyone." He smiled, rolling onto his side to face her. She closed her eyes and appeared to be drifting back off to sleep, so he stayed still and just watched her, her mouth slightly open, hair more dishevelled than usual, chest rising and falling with each breath... He was suddenly deadly aware of her arms around her neck, the heat radiating from her body, the – A knock on the door crashed his train of thought.

"Remus? Remus, mate, you want a hand in there?" It was Sirius.

"Hermione helped me earlier." He said, not wanting to wake the sleeping girl.

"Oh, okay..." Sirius was still talking through the door. He suddenly sounded very inexpressive. "I'll wait for you two downstairs, then. Your mum's just made breakfast."

"Okay. Thanks, Sirius."

He heard the footsteps pad away and shook Hermione gently. "Amy... I mean, Hermione... Come on, we have to go get breakfast."

"Do we have to?" She stirred. He laughed softly.

"Yes, unless you want to stay in bed all day."

"That sounds like a really good idea, if you'll be staying with me." His heart stopped. She couldn't possibly be proposing what he thought she was, and the morning after the full moon, no less! Not that he wasn't tempted, of course he was tempted, he was only human (most of the time)... He quickly tried to remember all of the details James had told him, Sirius and Peter after one of his numerous conquests, tried to remember anything that would help him in this situation... He noticed Hermione peering at him.

"I meant to get more sleep, Remus." She said slowly, pulling her arms from around his neck and sitting up. "I'll go shower and everything."

"Okay." He said. When she left the room, he groaned and hit himself on the head. How _stupid_ could he be? He felt slightly relaxed, knowing that she wasn't expecting _that_ just yet, but he felt quite uneasy at the same time. He, he realised as he made his way down the stairs, had given her the impression that he was.

* * *

"Okay, kids." Mr Lupin nearly had to shout as they stood on the top floor of a multi-story car park in a nearby town. Christmas eve was certainly not the time to plan a Christmas shop. This was made evident by the seemingly insane crowd of last minutes shoppers. Sirius stood, leaning over the railing at the edge of the building, apparently feeling extremely travelsick and not listening to a word anyone was saying. Hannah was leaning against the car, checking her watch more than was necessary and casting around shifty glances. Hermione was looking determined, bag clasped in one hand, the other in her pocket, trying to warm up a little. Remus suspected he looked dead on his feet.

Away from the salty sea air, snow was falling in big heavy flakes and laying on the ground in inches in places that hadn't been gritted. As a result, everyone was freezing and much more desperate to get inside the warm shopping centre than stand out in the cold, listening to Mr Lupin. Remus only caught snippets of the instructions, but it seemed enough. _Meet back here at three _was the main thing. Get some lunch and ... The sound of lunch seemed to give Sirius a turn for the worst. Thanks to being in a town teeming qith non-magic folk, Mr Lupin couldn't get out his wand and instead bustled Sirius away to, Remus guessed, the chemist, telling them they'd meet up later.

He, Hannah and Hermione manoeuvred around various clumps of people and snow alike and made their way to the shops. Hermione headed straight towards a bookstore and Remus went to follow, but his siter grabbed his jacket sleeve.

"Naughty, naughty, Remus. Come on. I'll help you find her a present, you're hopeless at that stuff." She smirked. Remus shrugged and followed her away from the bookstore, figuring that Hermione would think they'd been separated in the crowds.

* * *

He looked at himself in the mirror of the public bathroom. His hair was light and wavy, his eyes a very delicate brown. Definitely Remus Lupin. He frowned and pushed his way out into the crowd, wondering how he'd find Hermione in this swarm. He stood by the window of a clothing store for a moment and thought; most teenage girls would be in a music store or something. She wasn't most girls. Bookshop. He turned on his heel and headed back in the other direction, smiling softly to himself when he saw her flicking through a rather large hardback. He snuck behind her and snapped his hands over her eyes.

"Guess who."

"Uhm, security?" She murmured. He could feel the confusion marring her otherwise pretty face. _Security! _

"No." He took his hands off her eyes and she spun to see herself face to face with him.

"Oh, Remus... You sounded different." She let out a short laugh, and he forced a smile back.

"Do you want to get out of here? I had to sneak away from Hannah and this'll be the first place she'll look." Hermione only nodded in response. _Silly little girl... _He smiled wryly to himself as she let herself be led from the store, her hand in his.

* * *

"Never thought I'd find you." Sirius clapped Remus on the shoulder making him jump.

"Ouch." Remus moaned, rubbing his now more painful shoulder. Sirius grinned, grabbed his friends arm and wrapped it around his shoulders, taking most of the werewolf's weight.

"I'm just stealing your brother for a while." Sirius called to Hannah, who looked up, looked at her watch, then back to Sirius and nodded. "What were you doing with her anyway?" Sirius asked as he half-dragged Remus from the store.

"She said she was going to help me find Hermione a present." He said quietly.

"Didn't she?"

"Nah, just wanted me to lose her I think."

"You know, you'll lose her sometime anyway." Sirius said, awkwardly, readjusting Remus' arm.

"What do you mean?" the shorter of the two asked.

"Well, she's going back to the future, isn't she?"

"Sh! Not so loud!" Remus said, purposely avoiding the question. Neither spoke as they battled their way through a crowd towards a small café.

"Moony, I've got something to tell you." Sirius bit his lip, trying to summon some inner courage. It had to be there somewhere, he was in Gryffindor, after all, but Remus sharply pulled his arm from Sirius and pointed it into the far corner of the small, overly decorated café in which they stood. Hermione was sat, talking to Remus.

"But... you're here." Sirius frowned and looked between the two Moonys, a justifiable look of horror on his face.

* * *

Upon returning from the Lupins, Draco had tried to spend every waking moment with Lily and James, as if to make sure that they were there, that they were safe, that he wasn't responsible for their deaths.

"Do you know me in the future?" James asked when the three were sat in the silent living room on Christmas Eve morning.

"I know_ of_ you." Draco shrugged. He didn't want to get into this right now.

"Quidditch, right?" He smiled, then added with a slight elbow to Lily. "Bet it's Quidditch."

"It isn't." Draco smirked slightly at the shocked expression, as did Lily.

"What is it, then? Something cool?" He asked. Lily snorted.

"Not exactly cool." Draco said, wanting to leave but not wanting to seem suspicious. He settled on a subject change. "Are we going shopping today?"

"Oh-ho, not getting out of it that easily, Draco." James smiled openly. "We're not going anywhere until you tell me how you know of me. And you know, the longer you leave it in the muggle world, the busier London is..."

"I go to school with your son." Draco said, an expressionless look on his face.

"What's he like? He'd better be good at Quidditch, or I must make a lousy father..."

"He made the house team in our first year." Draco shelved his pride in order to give James this jolt of happiness.

"That's impossible." Lily frowned. "First years aren't even allowed brooms."

"There was an – uh – incident in our first flying lesson." Draco now wished even more that he could leave.

"Oh. What position does he play?" Lily continued, sipping from her glass of milk.

"Seeker. Same as me." Draco said. Talking about The-Boy-Who-Lived wasn't so bad if he could talk about himself, too. James, however, didn't care.

"You're seventeen, right? And you came back twenty years? So I'll have a kid in three years?" He frowned. "That's pretty soon."

"Yeah." Draco shrugged noncommittally. Lily looked at him questioningly.

"Who's his mother?"

"You." Draco said, looking aside. He didn't – no, couldn't – look at her and talk about Harry. The son of the girl he wanted. He stood up. "I need to see Dumbledore." He didn't wait for a response but walked away and went to the headmaster's office via floo.

* * *

"I need a way to get home." Draco said as soon as he exited the fireplace. Dumbledore was alone in his office, pacing.

"There is a way, Mr Malfoy." He said simply. "I need your time-turner. There is a spell, which must be performed at a certain time of night and a certain place in Japan, thus it is not greatly known. The time-turner will be reversed for one use only. The same amount of people can be transported back by simply pressing - no, not spinning – it."

Draco didn't need to hear more. He turned around and jumped into the fire again, heading for Hermione.

As he burst into the living room of the country house, Mrs Lupin nearly hit the ceiling.

"Sorry, dear... I'll never get used to that. Everyone's out shopping." She said and smiled apologetically. Draco mentally swore.

"Can I go see if my friend left something here? It's really important." He said, a tone of desperation in his voice.

"Would she mind you pawing through her things?" Mrs Lupin raised an eyebrow. Draco shook his head.

"We're practically brother and sister. We share everything." He lied, but she seemed to buy it. He rushed upstairs and, after minutes of scrabbling around one of the rooms, found the time-turner in a small box. It was definitely the right one, so he ran back downstairs, thanked Mrs Lupin and went back to Hogwarts.

"Here." He thrust the instrument into Dumbledore's hand. Dumbledore slipped it into his pocket.

"I shall perform the spell tonight, but I ask of you one thing." He said. "You will let Hermione have this Christmas here. It will do you no good to stay here for much longer, but it will do her no good to leave now. You should go tell her you'll be returning to the future on the 26th. She will need time to say goodbye."

Draco nodded and didn't speak. He walked out of Dumbledore's office – he wasn't going to go back to Godric's Hollow, not until he had to, instead he skulked out of the Hogwarts grounds and slowly towards Hogsmeade. Perhaps he would have a few Firewhiskeys before he returned. He sighed and rubbed his eyes. He didn't know what would be worse; to stay or to leave. He knew he had to go back to the future, he also knew that that's what he would do, but part of him didn't want to. Part of him wanted to stay, take Lily from James and just try to live happily. _Then Harry wouldn't exist, the world would be corrupted, blah blah blah..._ he thought bitterly.

But maybe it wouldn't. Maybe if _he_ had a child with Lily, the future could be similar... Only then his son would go to school with himself and he would, suddenly to the people in his natural time, either disappear or turn to be 37 in a second. He had to go back. He rubbed his forehead and wished that this had never happened. He wished that he'd never met either of the stupid mudbloods. He wished that he didn't have to feel this horrible pang of jealousy whenever he saw a loved-up couple holding hands in the snow. He pushed his way into the three broomsticks and ordered a drink, and many more after that, trying to drown out his thoughts.

* * *

a/n: IT'S DONE! CHAPTER SIXTEEN IS DONE! If there was ever a need for an "enthusiasm" key on my laptop, now would be the time.

Feel free to be mean, I sure deserve it. xD


	17. Chapter Seventeen

**A/n:** Before I say ANYTHING, I have to point out what an ape I am! In my last chapter I said Remus is 17. HE'S NOT! I'm so sorry. He's 16 until March 10th. But the fact remains the same: Remus Old enough to think about (/participate in) sex and have it be the norm.

**Warning**: Excessive drinking. A lot of people nowadays have suffered because of alcohol, be it them who's consumed or not. All we see is Draco, who, to use my mother's term, is "Pissed as arseholes". Sadly, it's far from a pretty sight. But whatever. There's a warning.

This chapter was good to write (Though I HATE Draco acting this way. I half want to hug him, half want to slap him..) but I'm far from happy with it. That seems to be the norm these days, though, so I should stop saying it.

**Review Replies:**

**Alenor**, I sort of agree with you about Draco. He really should stop thinking about the time-turner. Uh, actually, in this chapter he kinda does. But it's certainly not through happy means. Thanks for reviewing.

**Celi**, thanks for dropping by and reviewing. :D

**Rocks-My-Socks**, thanks for the review! This is possibly my longest chapter yet... Hope you enjoy.

**Anglachel**, You loved it! Wow, thanks much! I hope you like this chapter, too. We get pretty much every character so far thrown in at some point, so hopefully there's a little something for everyone. Thanks again.

**IamSiriusgrl**, I'm glad you like it. :) I was SO angry with myself for making Draco and Hermione have to go home, but realistically, Dumbledore wasn't going to just leave them there. Ho hum. But a lot can happen in the short while before Boxing Day... trots off before she reveals too much Thanks for reviewing.

* * *

Draco, stood up after drinking an excessive amount of Firewhiskey and a few shots of a drink he'd never heard of before at the Hog's Head, which a fellow drinker assured him would "cure what ails you". He certainly wasn't wrong. Whereas the Firewhiskey had fuelled Draco's slip into depression and self-pity, this strange, purple, almost treacle-like beverage seemed to lift his mood to a cheerful, almost giddy, excitable frame of mind. He left the pub smiling from ear to ear, before deciding to apparate to the Lupin's house and wait in the nearby bushes for Hermione.

Unfortunately, the mystery drink didn't seem to restore his common sense as well as make him happy. He ended up in knee-high water at the beach, and promptly stumbled over, landing on his back in the water. He giggled softly to himself and jumped up, pulling his wand from his pocket and pointing it to the sky.

"Sun... Uhh... Sun-warm?" He laughed at his own absurdity and knew he must look like a complete mess. He was stumbling around the sea, drenched, on Christmas Eve, stinking of various types of booze and shouting at the sky. Things like that weren't seen as the norm, even for the most bizarre wizards, or even muggles. He sniggered – what kind of word is _muggle_? He pocketed his wand and skipped up the beach to the town.

He walked slowly to the house, and tried to climb a tree nearby. Failing for the ninth time, rubbing his bruised tailbone, he gave up and sat at it's base, waiting for Hermione to return.

* * *

Hermione was sat at the table in the Baker's Oven, deep in conversation with the wizard opposite her.

"Tell me something about you." She said after a second. He frowned.

"My name's Remus."

"Something I don't know." She rolled her eyes. He looked nervously aside and his eyes widened. Before she could follow his gaze, he kissed her desperately. She frowned before kissing back. He tasted like... something horrible yet distantly familiar. She put it down to his transformation. Suddenly, Remus disappeared from her lips.

Remus was stood there, his collar clutched in the fist of... Remus. Was she going crazy?

"Wh-What's going on?" Hermione looked between the two and then to Sirius, who looked as baffled as she felt, but much more angry.

"What the hell are you?" The Remus who'd dragged the other up shouted. They were making a scene, even amid this festive crowd. Sirius seemed aware of this, too, and dragged the Remus' from the table and into the café men's room. Hermione paused before going after them – it was the _men's room! – _but she figured some rules had to broken.

"Which of you is the real Remus?" Sirius was shouting. He'd backed the two up to the wall and was looking positively threatening, wand held high in front of himself.

"I am." They said together, then cast each other scornful looks.

"Ask them something only the real Remus would know." Hermione said, looking extremely apprehensively at the Remus'.

"What, and unveil one of his secrets to a bloody dark wizard? Yeah, great plan." Sirius snapped. Hermione didn't say anything more. No one did.

"Polyjuice potion!" she said after a minute. They all looked at her. "It's a forbidden potion, you take it and you physically transform into someone else for an hour."

"And there are metamorphmaguses, too, so I'm not going to stand around here for an hour when it'd be a waste of time." Sirius scowled. "Who sent you? You-Know-Who, right? But why?" He was pointing his wand between the two Remus' threateningly. Hermione was about to sink onto the ground, but she saw a questionable liquid on the tiles and decided to stay stood and wash her shoes as soon as possible.

"It's definitely the Polyjuice potion." She said after a moments thought.

"How do you know?" Sirius frowned, but still didn't take his eyes from the seemingly identical people before himself.

"Well, it doesn't change your voice. And it tastes foul. Er -- which of them was with me out there? Because the one with you was Remus..."

"I lost track when I brought them in here... Did you recognise the other one's voice?"

"No... Make them speak..."

"I'm Remus! For god's sake, stop manhandling me, Sirius!" One of them said. It stuck Hermione that he'd been talking quietly all of this time, whereas the other remained silent. It was definitely Remus. Sirius seemed to think so, too, as he let him go and he walked over to Hermione, standing protectively in front of her. He turned his head to her as he spoke again. "How long were you with him?"

"Nearly an hour." She said, looking at the floor. "I'm so sorry."

"Shh, don't. It's okay." A slight smile flashed over his face and he retrieved his wand and joined Sirius in holding it to the impostor. Hermione made to join them, and Remus held his free arm out, holding her back.

"Me, Harry and Ron fight side by side." She said simply. "I won't start acting like a damsel in distress now." Remus nodded and moved aside, and they stood together, the three of them, wands brandished, watching as the hair turned slightly longer, darker, the eyes smaller, the skin paler, body thinner, scrawnier, yet taller...

"I just wanted you to look at _me_ like that." Severus said quietly, a surge of hatred in his voice, before disapparating.

* * *

They returned from their shopping trip at nearly six pm, Draco noted. He launched towards Hermione and rugby tackled her to the ground, laughing.

"You fell like... like... A sack of potatoes!" He sniggered loudly. She pushed him off her and stood up, frowing.

"I'll see you inside." She said to Remus, Sirius, Mr Lupin and Hannah, who nodded and walked inside. Remus took her bags for her.

"What do you want, Draco?" She asked, then, after taking a deep breath, added "Honestly, you _stink. _Are you _drunk_?"

"I had a little devil's urine." He laughed. Hermione scowled and shook her head at him, which made him laugh more. "This senseless sense is better than... Oh, Dumbledore got us a way to go home. Yeah! Better than going home."

"What?" She sounded incredulous.

"Better than goin' home!" He almost sang. She had the burning desire to hit him.

"I meant, what did you say about Dumbledore?"

"We're going home. Boxing day. Say goodbye, cry, sigh, my, shy, lie, pie, goddamn I'm hungry. Do_ you _have any pie?"

"Oh, shut up." She rolled her eyes. "You're drunk, Draco. Go away." She would have pushed him off the cliff, but didn't trust him to save himself. Instead she turned and walked into the house, leaving him outside, laughing.

* * *

"Remus is upstairs. He said he wanted to see you." Sirius said from the sofa. Apparently, the muggle travel-sickness pills hadn't worked and he was now nursing a citrus-y looking potion. She thanked him and made her way upstairs; Remus was sat on his bed looking more tired than before.

"What did Draco want?" He asked her. She hesitated and loudly exhaled to stall for time.

"I'm going home on Boxing Day."

"I see." He twisted himself to lie down, and she sat on the edge of the mattress, looking down at him. "Can't you stay the rest of the holidays?"

"I don't think so. But he was drunk... I might not have to go anywhere, yet." She sighed and took his hand in her own, massaging it softly. "How are you feeling?"

"Significantly worse than I was this morning. Let's recap. I wake up and seem to get the wrong impression of everything until I leave the room in great pain. Then my sister drags me away from you, paving the way for Snape to impersonate me and effectively makes everyone doubt that I'm really me for a short while. Then he fucks off and you tell me you're about to do the same." He shook his head as soon as he finished. "I didn't mean that."

"It doesn't matter." She sighed, nudged him over a bit and stretched out beside him.

"Just try to enjoy Christmas." He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her softly. "Just... Uhm..."

"What?"

"I didn't manage to get you a present. With Snape and everything, I just... didn't have time." He scowled at himself. "You can have anything you want of mine, though..."

"Remus, I'm not going to take your things." She didn't mention that she'd not bought him anything either. She'd have to improvise.

"Dinner." Sirius muttered through the door. They made their way downstairs, forcing cheery smiles.

* * *

After dinner, Sirius, Remus and Hermione sat in the living room wrapping up presents. Sirius used his wand, and was therefore finished within minutes. He resorted to taping his eyes open and mouth shut to pass the time, but quickly undid the latter so that he could complain about the muggle way.

"It's so _slow_, hurry up!" He took to clicking his teeth together in an annoying tune.

Hermione finished next, and assisted Sirius, who was trying to tape his hands together. Remus finished his last present and they set them under the sparkling ornamental tree. The only light in the room came from the twinkling fairy lights, and so the mood was very Christmassy, yet very, very tranquil.

"Do you want to watch a movie?" Remus asked the others. Sirius shook his head fiercely,

"Gives me a headache..."

"Do any muggle objects not hurt you?" Hermione laughed, as did the others, softly. "We could play a board game... Surely you have Monopoly here?"

"That game that causes all of the arguments? No thanks." Sirius frowned. "Twister?"

"The night after full moon? I think not." Remus frowned. They sat in silence, trying to think up ideas.

"How does the Polyjuice potion work?" Sirius asked after a moment.

"It's complex. It takes a month to prepare, and you need a piece of the person you're changing into. A skin cell or a fingernail or something... Then you drink it and you change for an hour."

"But how did Snivellus get one of your toenails, Moony?" Sirius frowned.

"I've no idea. It doesn't matter now, anyway..."

"Why?" Sirius frowned. Hermione looked _extremely _interested in her lap.

"Hermione's going back on- well, tomorrow." He said, looking at his watch. Sirius looked slightly pleased, but this was soon covered with a look of shock.

"What? Why?"

Halfway through explaining how she was going to mess up the future (And Remus butting in with rants about the Chaos theory, though he seemed more to be trying to convince himself than Sirius), Mr Lupin bounded down the stairs.

"I forgot to get a turkey! Where'll be open at this time of night? On Christmas day morning! With Turkeys!" He grabbed his car keys and ran out of the house.

Shortly after this, the three teenagers fell asleep on the sofas. When they awoke at sunrise, Mr Lupin still wasn't home.

* * *

I need your help. This story's fate lies in your hands. Please c&p one of the following into your review. Voting sucks, but I'm afraid I'm unable to decide this alone.

End this story now. No one cares about your imagination. Go home, Tri_cera_tops. (Or similar...)

Tie it up in the next few chapters, then leave it at that/write other, unrelated stories. (Or similar...)

Tie it up in the next few chapters, then write a sequel. (Or similar...)

Keep this going on forever/more than a few chapters more! LONG LIVE HERMIONE/REMUS! (Or similar...)

Uhm. I hope it goes without saying, the less "1"s, the better. If you do choose that option, please add your own "joke", not an obvious observance of origin of a character name from "The Land Before Time". It's pretty old to me now. Unless every single vote I get is a 1, it wont happen anyway. The rest I'd be entirely happy to do.

Randomly. I'm real hungry, so let me go get a maracuya yoghurt. YUM.


	18. Chapter Eighteen

A/n: I was playing FFX and I came across the line "This is my story. It'll go the way I want, or I'll end it here." –**Tidus... **

Some want Remus/Hermione to go on forever, in this fic. Others want this to turn into a Draco/Hermione, pretty much everyone wants Lily/James, I personally keep writing Sirius/Remus without realising it (And leaving in cute little bits, but nothing too serious...)... And an ending I had in mind had some implied Remus/Lily (Noooo!) ... A lot of different pairings, really.

This chapter has no review responses, I'm sorry. I'm moving out tomorrow and trying to get this fic finished before I lose the net.

Warnings: Character death.

* * *

"Draco, sit up." Who was shaking him like this? Ugh, his head felt like it was going to explode. No, felt like it _had_ exploded. He cupped his hands over his eyes and hoisted himself up. He was in his bed at Godric's Hollow. "Drink this." Lily was sat next to him in one of her horribly pretty lace nightdresses, a goblet of something in her hand. It was bubbling and smelled putrid.

"I'm not drinking that." He turned his head away, but regretted the sudden movement as another shot of pain sliced through his head.

"It's a hangover cure, Draco." She said. He took the potion from her, but didn't drink it. "Don't make me force it down you."

He sighed and guzzled it down in one go, then groaned.

"It's like there's a party in my mouth and everyone's invited except me." He said, but his headache had gone and he just felt very, very tired and very, very thirsty.

"You're such a drama queen." She grinned. He scowled at her and so she playfully hit him on the leg. "Come on, it's Christmas."

"Oh, god." He rubbed his eyes. "I didn't buy anyone anything."

"It's fine, Draco." She hugged him tightly. "We know how much you care." He suppressed the urge to laugh and instead hugged her back just as tightly.

"I'm going home tomorrow." He said, she pulled out of his embrace quickly.

"What? I mean... Why now?"

"Because Dumbledore found out how to send me and Hermione back, so back we go." He rubbed his upper arms. He felt cold now that she'd dived away, but wasn't going to say anything. She leaned in towards him, and then backed away when their lips were only inches apart.

"I can't do this to James anymore."

He didn't trust himself to speak. Instead he rose from the bed, walked silently to the bathroom and took a very long, very hot shower.

* * *

"Mornin', Draco. This is my mum and dad." James said when Draco entered the kitchen, hair still dripping.

"It's wonderful to meet you, Draco." Mrs Potter enveloped him in a hug and Mr Potter shook his hand roughly. "We would have been here at the start of your holidays, but work... It's been in an uproar recently!"

"It's fine. Thanks for letting me stay here." He forced himself to use manners, to smile, but all he could see was Lily sat in James' lap, whispering to him, making him smile... He took a deep breath and turned so he couldn't see the pair. "Would you like any help?"

"No, no! You're our guest." Mr Potter smiled and patted him on the shoulder brusquely. Draco forced another smile.

"I think I'll go for a walk... Clear my head a little..." He said. They nodded and Draco turned to leave the room, but paused when He saw Lily staring at him, hurt in her eyes. He ignored it and walked straight out of the house and apparated to Remus'. He wanted Hermione and didn't know why.

He appeared in his empty bedroom and made his way down the stairs quietly.

"Draco! Merry Christmas!" Sirius grinned and pointed above them. Pinned into the ceiling was a clump of mistletoe. Draco sidestepped and muttered-

"That didn't happen." But the mistletoe, it seemed, was not taking no for an answer. It suddenly grew to be metres long and coiled around Draco, dragging him towards Sirius. "Make it stop!" He shouted, but Sirius only laughed and pouted. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Remus and Hermione enter the room, both grinning like lunatics. Draco felt his lips brush against Sirius', then the plant recoiled, and he fell to the ground. Everyone was laughing except him, and he was certain he was blushing.

"Draco, we got you presents." Hermione smiled, but Remus cut in.

"No one's allowed to open them until after the Queens speech, though. My mum's always said that... Where're Lily and James?"

"In their kitchen making goo-goo eyes at each other." He frowned. "I need to talk to you, Hermione. In private."

"Take him to my room." Remus smiled and joined Sirius, who was now on his knees by the tree, shaking gifts and trying to guess what they were.

* * *

"What is it?" Hermione asked Draco, frowning slightly, but Christmas cheer evident on her face. Draco scowled.

"We're going back tomorrow. And Sirius Black just kissed me."

"I don't see why you'd be upset about either of those things." Hermione grinned. "You get to go back to being Captain Perma-glare. And as for the kiss, well, Sirius _is_ attractive." She smiled at him, expecting nothing but a glare or perhaps a snarky comment back. Needless to say, she was shocked when he pulled her into a needy, desperate hug. "Draco...?" She asked, but he said nothing and didn't relax his grip on her. "Draco, what's wrong?"

"I hate this." He said into her hair. He was a full head taller than her and she'd never realised before. She slowly snaked her arms around him and hugged him back jus as tightly.

"I hate it too." She said in an undertone, voice vibrating against his chest.

Draco seemed to realise what was happened and pulled himself back, straightening his back and fixing his sneer in place.

"I just came by to let you know I usually handle my liquor better than I did yesterday." He smirked, and diappeared with a pop. Hermione simply frowned and walked downstairs.

* * *

"Eventually!" Hannah sighed when the Queen's Speech was over. She, Remus and Sirius headed over to the pile of gifts, but Mrs Lupin stopped them.

"We should wait until your father gets home." She said. As if on cue, the phone rang, and Hannah made her way over to the other side of the room where to phone hung on the wall.

"Hello?" She answered. "Yes, this is his daughter." She flashed a strange look at the others. "_What?_"

She dropped the phone, which swung from the cord, inches above the floor. Mrs Lupin was there in a flash.

"Sorry, who is this?" She asked, a look the same as Hannah's. "Oh no. Oh _no_. Please tell me this is a sick joke."

She hung up seconds later. "Your father's been in an accident." She said, her eyes brimming with tears, her voice oddly mechanical, a horrified expression on her face. "He's dead. I've got to go identify the body." She left the house right away, and no one spoke at all. Sirius wrapped his arms around Remus, who stared blankly into space, not responding. Hannah stood up and walked straight out of the front door, not saying a word to anyone. Hermione sat still for a while before joining Sirius and Remus on the ground. She wrapped her arms around Remus from behind, and he instantly brushed them both off, ran to the kitchen and was violently sick.

They followed him tentatively, Hermione going first, seeing Remus bent over the sink. He straightened himself up when he noticed they were there.

"Please tell me it's not true." He allowed the hugs this time, but didn't return them. He was led back into the living room and they sat either side of him on the sofa.

"I'll go get James and Lily." Sirius said, and disapparated immediately. Remus spread out on the sofa, head on Hermione's lap. She ran her fingers through his hair and he scrunched up his eyes, trying not to let his emotions get the better of him.

"Shh..." Hermione comforted him, taking one of his hands on one of hers, using her other to continue running her fingers through his hair. "Just let it out, Remus."

He burst into tears and tried to wipe them away, but Hermione pulled him up and into the roughest embrace she could manage. She was no Sirius, but she could still be there for him. _For a day..._ she reminded herself.

* * *

A/n: "It's like there's a party in my mouth and everyone's invited except me." – My favourite d00d of the present said that. Hats off to him. Did anyone say it before him? Possibly, but I don't care. He still deserves many a hats off.

The Queen's Speech is shown on terrestrial TV in the UK on Christmas day at 3pm, I think. My Nanna doesn't let people there open presents until after it, either, and when you don't give much of a ... flip... about it, it makes Christmas even more exciting, but in a really annoying way.


	19. Chapter Nineteen

A/N: 4:18am. 4 hours and 42 minutes and I'll be on my way to decorate. I can't leave the Lupins scattered around, grieving, though, so continue I shall.

Oh, and guess what my mum's banned from her house. BOOKS. I'm not allowed to take books, but my brother's allowed to take his videogames, my sister her ... videogames (They're too alike.). :( Since when has "Grand theft auto" been better than ... Well, pretty much ANY book? Though the game sure is fun, nothing can beat a good read (How much of a nerd am I right now?)

* * *

Remus didn't stop crying for over an hour. He told James, Lily, Draco and Sirius to go away, then instantly apologised. He didn't want to offend them, after all, they were only trying to help. Being treat like you were going to combust at any moment, however, was not helping. Only Hermione with her calming silence, her soft hand running through his hair after all of this time, only she could help. After they had all gone to Godric's Hollow, leaving the two alone, and Mrs Lupin had returned and said she was going to visit her sister in Wales, Remus ran out of tears to cry. He pulled Hermione down to lie on the edge of the sofa, facing him.

"I'll fall off." She said softly, but he had his arms around her now, holding her on.

"I don't want to lose you." He pulled her even closer, if possible, one of her legs sliding between his.

"You won't..." She whispered.

"But I will. Tomorrow. For twenty years."

"I said you won't." She whispered, kissing him softly. He kissed back, they both stayed there, arms wrapped around each other, neither looking up as Severus and Hannah entered the house. Neither pair cared about the other, and they all stayed grieving, very much alone, but even more together.

* * *

"You should get some sleep." Hermione said to Remus that night as they sat in his room, after forcing him to eat a slice of toast.

"I can't stay in here alone." Remus said quietly. Hermione nodded.

"I'll go get changed and then I'll be back..."

"No." His hand snapped out grabbed her wrist. "I can't let you go."

"I can't sleep in my jeans, Remus."

"Just... I don't care what you wear, just don't leave me." He whispered. She looked at him, his eyes which were bloodshot from crying, his dishevelled hair, the way he looked so fragile, so young... He picked out a tee-shirt from a pile and handed it to her. "Is this okay?"

"Yes, of course." She smiled nervously, fully aware and understanding that he as still looking at her. If he looked away, he was chancing something happening to her, which to a normal mind was a bit over-the-top, but he'd just lost his father. He was hardly going to be in the mood to sing Christmas Carols and watch TV whilst people sword-fought with wrapping paper tubes. She stepped out of her jeans and pulled her own shirt over her head before pulling Remus' on over her underwear.

"I never want to let you go." Remus said as they lay entwined under his duvet a short while later, hand resting on Hermione's waist, under the shirt. She nuzzled into his neck in response. Within minutes they were asleep.

* * *

Draco awoke on Boxing Day morning in the same room as Sirius. Of course, he'd stayed there last night, Remus understandably not being in the mood for company. He saw an owl at the window, holding both parchment and parcel.

_Mr Malfoy._

_I assure you it was most difficult to be in Osaka at 2:03am when I misplaced my pocket-watch! Nonetheless, the time turner will take you back to where you're from, then return to its normal state. I assume Miss Granger and yourself have said your goodbyes and will leave as soon as possible. I request that you inform me that I have lent Aberforth 50 galleons._

_Albus Dumbledore._

Okay. So he'd go right now. He'd go get Hermione and ... Everything would be back to normal. He didn't even bother to wake the others to say goodbye, but left for Hermione right away.

"Wake up." He shook her arm, but Remus awoke instead.

"Go away." He groaned.

"Lupin, she needs to go home." Draco said, trying to wake her up.

"Get off her!" Remus jumped out of bed and backed Draco into the corner.

"We need to go back! I'm sorry about your dad, Lupin, but she's not going to take his place."

Remus suddenly flew into a rage. He threw his fists at Draco, one hitting his jaw, the other his nose.

"Petrificus totalus!" A voice came from behind them. Hermione, it seemed, had awoken. Remus fell to the ground, stiff as a board.

"I'm not going anywhere, Draco." She said strongly. "I'm sorry Remus..." She added, looking at him.

"Stop pissing around, Granger." Draco drawled. Hermione scowled.

"Get out. If you want to go back, fine. I don't."

"Just because he-"

"Leave him out of this! This is _my_ choice!" She cut him off, crouching near Remus.

"What about Potter and Weasley? You're just abandoning them?" Draco asked, and Hermione fell silent for a moment.

"I'm not abandoning anyone, which is exactly why I'm staying. Get out, Draco."

Draco apparated back to James', another idea forming in his mind. He shook Lily awake and whispered, "Evans, I need your help."

Surely she'd understand.

ooooooooooo

"That was... effective." Remus said, rubbing the back of his head from here he'd fell. Hermione smiled coyly.

"I just... I'm not going anywhere. Especially led by _him_." She shook her head and climbed back into bed, Remus following her.

"You never got your present from me." He said as they lay facing each other.

"I don't have the energy to go down and get it." She laughed softly. He shook his head at her.

"You get too accustomed to muggle ways. Accio present!"

All of the presents from the Living Room ended up at the foot of the bed.

"Now you see why I prefer the muggle way." She teased. He smiled softly and grabbed a small paddle-shaped gift from the pile.

"Ping pong bats?" She guessed with a shrug. He laughed and shook his head. She ripped the paper and found two handheld mirrors, both a dull chrome, one with a wolf engraved onto the back, the other an otter. "Why is there two?"

"Look into one." He grabbed the one with the wolf and looked into it himself. Hermione looked into the other and almost dropped it in fright. She could see Remus when she should be able to see herself. "They show what should be reflected in the other... I found them in a drawer and charmed them myself. And Sirius put the pictures on..." He explained. She beamed in response.

"They're amazing. I feel terrible, though..."

"Why?" He frowned and placed the mirror on the bedside unit.

"I didn't get you anything..."

"Are you insane? Hermione, you're staying here. What more could I ask for?" She smiled and kissed him softly before placing the mirror with the other. "We should stay here all day." He murmured, yawning. She nodded her approval and curled against his chest, waiting for sleep to take over her.

* * *

A/n: It's light outside now. Vogue in a few hours, came out yesterday but I didn't have chance to get it. I think I'll sleep before writing the last couple/few chapters. It'll probably be three. I just haven't got the energy to yawn now, so goodnight. 


	20. Chapter 20

A/N: So... long time no updates. My sincerest apologies. A lot's gone on in these past couple o' years, I'll tell you that much. Long story short, I broke my laptop and had no internet connection for a while. As in, a few years. Today I moved into a shared house, with my boyfriend, where 3 strange men reside. Since my guy is at work, I've trapped myself in my room and am frightened to hear these other guys wandering around and no doubt peeing all over the bathroom floor. I should probably go introduce myself, but no. Anyhow, I've kept you from the end of this story for long enough! Read on. I know time turners don't work like this, but deal with me.

Chapter Twenty.

Draco, seething with rage, decided to go for a walk along the beach before returning to he Potters'. He sat on a smooth-looking rock, underneath the overhanging clifftop, and thought of how selfish Hermione was being.

Before even five minutes had passed, he had on of the most unexpected visitors he could have imagined.  
"Hi Sirius"  
"She won't leave, will she?" He asked, seeming to skip formalities.  
"No." Draco answered simply, following the example.  
"She has to." Sirius lowered himself onto a rock beside Draco. "You think I don't know that?" He responded impatiently. "But there's no way of convincing her. Unless, of course, you have some way of communicating with the future and getting Harry to come back and convince her. And that's pretty impossible"  
To Draco's surprise, Sirius jumped up and began talking animatedly, his arms flailing as he explained his plan. So simple... Draco thought to himself as he pulled the time-turner chain around both himself and Sirius. He smiled to himself as he pressed the dial.

Harry was walking back up towards the castle from a rather exhilarating Quidditch practice, when he heard someone running behind him. He spun, wand out, only to see Draco Malfoy stood before him, arms held high.  
"I'm not trying to piss you off, Potter. Hermione's in trouble." He panted.  
"Oh, sure." Harry rolled his eyes sarcastically, but not lowering his wand. "And what'll be waiting for me in the dungeons THIS time? Crabbe, Goyle and some unimaginative jinxes"  
"I'm serious!" Draco shouted. To Harry's surprise, someone else came walking up.  
"No, that'd be me." Harry stared, mouth gaping, at his adolescent godfather, whom was laughing at his own little pun.  
"Sirius... what's going on?" Harry asked, no longer aware of the wand between his fingers. He didn't even notice as it slipped from is hand.

He tried to keep his stomach from doing somersaults as Sirius explained. In a few short years, this man would be wrongly imprisoned in Azkaban. A decade or so after that, he'd be gone. Forever. Dead. And this boy stood in front of him had no idea what sorrows lay ahead.

"You'll do it?" Draco asked, giving harry back his wand. "You'll come back and get her"  
"One condition." Harry said slowly, deliberately. "I get to meet my parents"  
"You look like them, you know." Sirius nodded to Harry. "Just like your dad, but they're lily's eyes"  
"So I hear." Harry mumbled as he quickly pulled himself into the chain.

"I have something for you." Hermione said quietly to Remus, who as sat on his sofa. She handed him a book. "Christmas present"  
"Werewolves; the Guide to Treatment." He read aloud. "No offence, Hermione, but I don't really want to read about how to kill myself with a silver bullet"  
She simply smiled as she grabbed the book from his hands, found a page, cleared her throat and read.  
"Wolfsbane potion, a potion to keep werewolves from losing sense of self during the fullmoon. Also prevents attacks"  
"That's not real." He said, shaking his head, thinking it too good to be true.  
"Not for another two years, it's not. But I figure breaking this little rule and giving you it now... well, it'll make around 25 transformations more tolerable, right"  
"Thank y"  
He was cut off as the door flew open. "Harry!" Hermione gasped. "What on earth are you doing here?"

A/N: Oh my. It seems to have grown to be pitch back and I have no idea where the light switch is in here. ? Ooh, I went to the bathroom and there's either some kind of party doenstairs or the TV is really loud. Probably the latter. I feel bad for smoking with the door partially open, but the damn thing won't close. I could always go outside for a smoke, but it's old and we only have one key. And I don't have it. I might go down and make a coffee before doing the next chapter. But that means meeting people. 


	21. Chapter 21

A/N: I went for it. I made myself a coffee! I only met one guy. He was making a cup of horlicks and watching gardener's world, bless him. He is called Matthew. He is doing a PhD, and looks to be in twenties. Boy, do I feel young. I thought it was bad enough when I was the youngest at a party, and finding out one of my boyfriend's friends shares my birthday but will e turning 22 when I roll over into the world of 18. He's a stereotypical Englishman. He used all the hot water in the kettle and said "BLIMEY! If I'd've known you were upstairs, I would have offered to bring one up for you!" I laughed. There's only one guy I have yet to meet. His name is Rudi and he is from Germany. And his shelf on the fridge is full of sauerkraut and bratwurst and other stereotypical German foods. I hope he is lovely.

Chapter 21.

The tension in Remus' bedroom was more obvious than even Harry's scar. No one knew what to say, not even harry himself, who had been wishing for this moment his whole life, albeit under different circumstances. All were sat on the floor, except Remus and Hermione, who were on the bed, looking down on the others. Remus felt somewhat like an unwanted observer, as though he should leave harry, lily and James alone. "Harry, err, son, why was it so important for us to meet you? I mean, it is fascinating and all, but surely you get to see us every holiday?" James asked, his arm hovering over Harry's shoulder. The youngest potter said nothing, but put his head in his hands. Draco suddenly felt overwhelmingly out of place, and knew this moment had changed his life forever.

"Potter." He said, and both Harry and James looked up. "Erm, I mean, harry. I just wanted to say... I'm sorry for everything I've ever done. I mean, you gave as good as you got... But sorry for hurting you"  
Harry said nothing, but replaced his head in his hands. The silence consumed them again. After several moments, Remus turned to Hermione.  
"I don't get it... Why is Harry so distressed?" She beckoned for him and Draco to leave.

The sat around the table in the kitchen, each with a warm drink in their hands. "James and Lily died when harry was a baby." Draco whispered slowly, though who he was talking to was beyond them all. "This isn't fair. This really is not bloody fair." He thumped the table with such force that Remus' teacup fell over. "Why did they die when my parents, MY BLOODY PARENTS, what are they? Hate filled idiots with absolutely no respect for life, be it of muggles, wizards or animals"  
"Draco..." Hermione said, "Our parents don't rule our lives. You aren't them. I believe you're capable of great things, but you don't have to prove yourself to anyone. I think you're a genuinely lovely person"  
"Oh, Hermione." He said, leaning over the table, his pose disturbingly similar to that of harry in the other room. "I wish I was." He started sobbing uncontrollably, shaking like a child tormented by nightmares. "How can I be this selfish when he loses his parents and faces you-know-who nearly every single week"  
"Draco, it's not YOUR fault he has to face him. What could you do to stop it, really? Saunter up to he who must not be named and say; 'Oi, you, fancy laying off the potter guy for a bit?' He'd probably kill you before he even finished laughing at your foolishness." When Remus had finished this little tirade, he stood up. "All you can do, is go back to the future with him and Hermione and all of you can work together, yes? Harry has no use for people crying about how bad their life has been, he needs people who are willing to do more than just talk. The question is, Draco, are you ready to sacrifice everything you desire to help harry? Can you give up the way you've been living?"

Although Draco knew Remus was not talking about Lily, the words seemed to make up his mind for him. He stood, wiped the tear tracks from his face and returned to Remus' bedroom. "Evans, can we leave these two alone for a minute?" He muttered, and looking confused, Lily obliged. They left for the beach together.

It was abnormally warm outside, Lily noticed as her and Draco walked down towards the seashore. He led her to his favourite place on the beach. They sat together on the rocks which he and Sirius had earlier occupied. "What's this about, Draco?" She asked quietly. Draco suspected she already knew.  
"Do you love me?" He asked sharply.  
"What?" She asked, taken aback.  
"You heard me, lily. Just answer the question." "You already know the answer." They looked at each other, their emotions a fiery passion, reflected in the others eyes. Whose was stronger, Draco could not tell. Lily moved in slowly, as she always did, an unintended tease. "Well you shouldn't. We need to stop this, stop kidding ourselves. You belong with James. Without him, there would be no harry"  
"Yes, I know. But it is not him I want, Draco. All the while sat next to him in that small room, I kept thinking; how different would he be if he were our child"  
"Shut up. I am going back, and you will get with James and everything will be normal!" He yelled. He felt like grabbing her, shaking her, screaming at her.  
"It's not what I want..." She said slowly.  
"I don't CARE what you want! This is how it has to be!" Now, he was screaming. "It's how it has to be! You, James, Harry. Promise me. Give me your word that you will marry James!" "One condition"  
"Oh please." Draco snorted. "Like mother like son"  
"I get to make love to you, just this once. After that, I promise I'll stay with James until the end of time."

Draco was shocked. How was he supposed to react to this? He should say no, surely? He should stop her, stop her from unfastening his shirt... Stop her from kissing his neck... Oh, to hell with it. For this short time only, she wasn't Harry's mother, she wasn't James' girlfriend. She was, and would always remain, the girl who stole Draco Malfoy's heart.  
A/N: Halfway through writing that, I went for a shower. I must tomorrow enquire about how the hell to get the water warm. Also; ring the landlord and request a lock on the bathroom door. Barricading with towels is not fun. Anyway, Draco and Lily had sex on a beach. Romantic, or sleazy? I vote both. Probably damn uncomfortable though. Is it odd that I may be developing an addiction to honey throat medicine, yet cannot stand honey? 


	22. Chapter 22

A/N: I am rather ill. So today I will no doubt tie up this little story, as I've nothing better to do.

Chapter Twenty-Two

"Did you mean that?" Hermione asked, her voice barely above a whisper. Her hands were shaking so much a drop of tea spilled from her cup.  
"Mean what?" Remus' tone was defeated, crushed.  
"That you want me to leave"  
"I don't want you to at all." He said. "But you need to. For Harry's sake. For Draco's sake. For your own sake"  
"But what about you!?" she cried out. "You need me here"  
"I have Sirius, James, Peter... I'll be fine. Anyway, I'll see you in twenty years, won't I"  
"But"  
"No buts, Hermione." He spoke strongly, and reminded Hermione of his brief stint as a teacher. After a moment, she nodded. "I'll come find you straight away. Come to Hogwarts and wait for me by the lake"  
"I promise. It won't be easy, Hermione. But I swear I'll wait for you."

Hermione, Harry and Draco stood in a small circle some several hours later. Dumbledore had reset the time-turner yet again, and he was supervising this time, making sure they did nothing as reckless as take Sirius to the future and bring Harry back. None of them could bring themselves to look at anyone else as they gathered there, in Dumbledore's office. Yet just as Draco was about to push the dial, he and Hermione locked eyes. They were both in similar situations, and yet how they felt couldn't have been more different.

Hermione was filled with an anxious hoping, knowing she would see Remus soon, but he would be aged. Would it bother her? She thought not, but it was too hard to tell right now... She had never had a crush on him, as a lot of her classmates had, but that wasn't to say he was ugly. Quite the opposite, in fact.  
Draco, on the other hand, was going to the future knowing that he would never meet a girl as right for him as Lily Evans. But she would be dead, and the only reminder of her would be her son.

Draco blinked back the tears and pushed the disc, leaving, Remus, Peter, James, Lily and Dumbledore stood alone.

"You're sure they'll find them?" Lily asked Remus. "As soon as they check their pockets." He tried to smile encouragingly, but it would be a further twenty years before he was reunited with Hermione, and this thought was one that e could not push out of his mind.

Lily broke her eyes away from Remus and towards James. "Fancy a walk?" She asked, forcing a smile. This is what Draco wanted. She told herself as he took her hand in his and they set off to roam the grounds.

A few moments after they had left, Peter following almost immediately, Severus burst into the room. "Where is she?" He roared. "Where's Amy, Hermione, whatever you want to call her"  
"She's gone." Remus said, choking on his words. "She's gone back"  
Severus slumped onto the floor, Remus only now noticing that he was holding a long piece of parchment. He was convinced that the first word was "Amy." Over his left arm was a dress, the dress he had bought her for the ball. "I just wanted her... To know..." He broke down, crying into the dress which he held so tightly his knuckles were turning white. "Severus." This time it was Dumbledore who spoke aloud, "She is not gone forever. But I implore of you, not to show you know her until she shows recognition of this time. You will both meet her before she has met you, so to speak."

A/N: This is the last we'll see of the past. Although Harry will talk about spending time with his parents. 


	23. Chapter 23

A/N: I am listening to Liam Frost. I demand you all find a copy of If Tonight We Could Only Sleep. It's amazing, and I intend to write a HP fanfic based on it. Watch this space.

"I need to go." They all said at the same time as they reappeared in their natural time, in Dumbledore's office. Draco grabbed a pen and parchment, and scribbled

Professor, You owe Aberforth 50 galleons.  
Draco, "Amy", Harry.

"He'll understand." Draco mumbled as Harry gave him an odd look. They all sped off in different directions. Hermione was running so fast she tripped, and a piece of parchment fell from her pocket. Frowning, she gathered it into her hands and unrolled it.

Hermione,  
I love you. I can only pray that you feel the same about me when amongst your own friends in your own time. Regardless of what decision you make, thank you for the most wonderful time of my life. I request that you retrace your steps. Think of what you did first when you arrived, here. I'll meet you at the lake when you have finished what needs to be done. I know already that I'll miss you like hell. I'll see you soon.  
Yours forever,  
Remus Lupin.

Hermione blinked. Retrace her steps...? That could only mean one thing.  
She set off at a run towards Harry's dormitory.

Draco sat by himself at the edge of the lake. It almost felt like the beach where he spent time with Lily... Almost. He sighed and threw small pebbles into the water, and looked up when, half an hour later, he heard someone approach him.  
"Hello, Draco. Are you okay"  
"I'm fine, professor." He said quietly, yet angrily to Remus. "Had a good 20 years"  
"Not really, no." He smiled wistfully. "And don't call me professor, please. A few minutes ago you were older than me, in your eyes"  
"True enough." He said. "Lily and James... They"  
"Died, yes." Remus nodded bitterly. "But they were married. And, of course, Harry was born"  
Draco had no idea what to say anymore, and so contented himself with a nice bout of silence. Much to his dismay, Remus broke it. "Have you found the letter yet"  
"Letter?" Draco asked.  
"Lily wrote one for you. It's in your pocket"  
Draco pulled out an envelope from his robes, and began to read.

Draco,  
I will keep your promise, but know I'll be thinking of you throughout my entire life. I assume I won't be around to see you again in the future, so I wish you happiness, for your entire life. I hope this photograph will remind you of our times together. Love,  
Lily.

Behind the letter in the envelope was a picture. Remus' house at Christmas time. He, Lily, James, Remus, Sirius and Hermione were all squashed within the frame, laughing and smiling at each other. Draco and Hermione were stood beside each other, smiling, arms around each other.

"Remus, where's Hermione?" He asked, hurriedly.  
"I expect she'll be on her way here." He said gruffly. "Either that or she's forgotten already."

Draco set off at a run for the castle.

A/N: Aww. Remus has turned up. And I've just got crumbs in the laptop. Oops. 


	24. Chapter 24

A/N: It's nearly one in the afternoon and I'm still in bed. This is what people are talking about when they discuss the joys of living away from your parents. On the down side, I'm nearly out of cigarettes. On the plus side, I'm getting my own key today so when the boy goes to work I can go to ze pub.

Chapter Twenty-Four.

Hermione threw open the door to Harry's dormitory with such force that the handle dented the wall behind it. "Ron!" She exclaimed. "I feel terrible asking but do you have 20 galleons I can borrow until tomorrow"  
"No." He snorted. "What do you think I am, rich or something? What do you need 20 galleons for anyway? Hey, what are you doing"  
She had pulled open Harry's trunk and was rummaging around. Eventually she found a sack of gold, pulled out the money she needed and set off at a sprint to the dungeons.

She ran into Snape's classroom, not caring that there was a 6th year class in there.  
"Severus." She said. "I'm sorry I neglected your feelings"  
"Miss Granger, would you please-" He sneered, but she cut him off.  
"You obviously had no real respect for me! You used a forbidden potion just to get me to spend time with you! You didn't even bother to come and say goodbye! But here." She threw the fistful of coins at him. "That's for your BLOODY dress."

She turned to leave when someone grabbed her arm.  
"Are you okay?" Ginny asked, a worried look on her face. "Do you need t see madam Pomfrey"  
"I'll take her. Class dismissed." Snape said, pointing at the door. The class hurried out, all throwing odd looks at Hermione, who was too infuriated to care.  
"I don't NEED madam Pomfrey!" She yelled at Snape, hitting him in the chest. "Just let me go"  
"My office, Hermione." He said, the softness of his voice catching her unaware. She followed him, listening intently as he spoke. "I did come to see you, to try and stop you coming here. It was selfish and foolish. I've had, unlike you, twenty years to focus on those events, and I must say that you were a very, very stupid little girl. Now go pick up your gold and leave. I have to grade these potions"  
She stood and walked from the room, not noticing as a tear slid down her professor's cheek.

Draco ran straight into Hermione without realising she was actually there.  
"Not now, Draco." She said. "I'll see you later, I really have to go see Remus"  
"But Hermione"  
She had already gone.

"Hermione." Remus said, as if holding back what he truly wanted to say. "Oh, Remus." She said, and threw herself towards him, hugging him intensely. "I thought you might've forgotten"  
"Sit down." He conjured a chair with his wand and she reluctantly lowered herself into it. "Now listen to me, Hermione. I've had 20 years to think of what I'm going to say to you right now. This cannot work. I'm over twice your age, you have your entire life ahead of you and I'm already over the hill, as they say. You need someone your own age. You need to be happy with who you are. You don't need middle ages werewolf holding you back"  
"But I love you, Remus, and you loved me too"  
"That's right. I loved you. But a lot has changed in twenty years. I'll still be your friend. I still want you as a friend. But as a lover, it's just not meant to be"  
"I don't want you as a friend!" Hermione spat. "Why are you doing this to me, Remus"  
"It's for your own good." He said simply. He walked away, leaving her sat there. She reread the letter he'd written her 20 years ago. Yours forever...What a joke. She threw the letter into the lake and sat watching the ink spread in the water. As soon as the words were indistinguishable, Draco walked up to her. "What do you want, Draco"  
"To help"  
She stood up and offered him her chair. He took it, pulled her onto his lap and stroked her hair as she cried. He knew how it felt to have your whole world come crashing down around you. They sat there for hours, not saying a word. For the first time since they'd met, Hermione and Draco Malfoy could empathise with each other.

THE END.

A/N: Sequel; Unforgivable. 


End file.
